Bedtime Story

So me and my older sister Heather were in a really wierd mood and we were singing a bunch of old old OLD kids songs! And one of them is from The Doughnut Man...does anyone remember him? He had a bunch of videos, and he was a Christian...anyways it was really cheesy. He always wore overalls and looked like he lived on a farm. But the best part was this doughnut. I think his name was Dunkin. Anyways so they always sang songs, and I mean for a little kid they're fun, because little kids don't really care too much. Ok so this one song in particular we were laughing really hard because, well you'll see. So the first part goes "Lower lower. Lower lower lower lower. Lower lower. Stomp satan lower lower. Lower lower. Lower lower lower lower, lower lower. Stomp satan lower." (Except they say it like "lowa") And the second part is even better. "Higher higher. Higher higher higher higher. Higher higher. Lift Jesus higher higher. Higher higher. Higher higher higher higher, higher higher. Lift Jesus higher." (and again they say it like "higha") Oh and the best part was the hand motions. For the first part...can you guess? YES! You just pretend to push lower and lower! And then of course the second part you pretend to push higher and higher! Wow, what a great song!

Ok so then last night I was laying in my bed, and when I get really tired and am just lying there I have time to think. (overanalize is more like it) So I was just singing that song and it made me think. Man that really is true. First off we need to be pushing "satan lower" if you will. I mean we all know this, but we need to make sure that he has no strong holds over us. And really we need to get rid of all the excess baggage. Even the stuff that isn't neccisarily bad, but it still hinders us. For example when you're going swimming, water shoes are not a bad thing to have. In fact a lot of people wear them. But no David Phelps in his right mind would wear water shoes when he's racing. In fact a lot of swimmers even shave their legs. Hair on your legs and water shoes really aren't "bad" things. But those are the kind of things that can really slow us down without us even knowing it. And we really are running a race. I want to do everything I can to not only run with endurance, but win my race. Even things like music. A lot of music is not bad. I listen to country music all the time. But sometimes I have to stop and think, "Is this uplifting me in anyway? Is it encouraging me to keep running and not quit because I'm tired?" Ok so enough about that. By now my eyes are closing and I'm really tired, but of course that just makes me think even more.

So I start thinking about the second part of that song. How much more important is it to lift Jesus higher than just to push satan lower. Its not enough to just dump out the junk. We all have to be filled with something, and if we don't fill it with God and his word, then lets face it. Its gonna get filled with junk again. Thats just the kind of sinful world we live in. So how to "push Jesus higher" if you will? It really is simple. Just worship him. You can lift Jesus higher just by the things you do. If you do it all as unto the Lord, then really you're worshiping Him! Thats not to say that if you do good things you'll be saved. Obviously not. We have to accept Jesus into our hearts as our personalLord and savior, and have a relationship with Him. But don't you think that God is uplifted when He sees His children worshiping Him? I think it would have to. The Bible sayes that if you give unto the least of these you are giving unto Me. Do the dishes for your mom once in a while without her asking you to. Just because. Trust me, something like that will not only please God, but it will show God through you! I know that most of us probably already do "nice" things for people, but I challenge you to go the extra mile this week. Don't only give, but give the best. Surprise people. Make them wonder why you're so nice. Give, just to be a blessing. But not only that, worship God when no ones around to see, hear, or benefit from you. When you're driving and you're angry because that car just cut you off then slowed down, and is driving 20 below the speed limit, instead of yelling or getting mad, pray for that person. Or if you're too angry don't, whatever. But choose to praise God instead. You're cutting God short of a blessing when you choose to use your words to tear someone down instead of lifting Him up! Its really that simple!

And then after like a long time of laying in bed overanalizing a cheesy song, I realized that first I really need a life, and second, I really need to sleep....The end!