open up the sky

I couldnt help posting this tonight. I had heard this song on the radio one morning in my trek to church and felt the anointing drop THICK in my car. i know at this point of reading my blog, youve looked up to see if you were reading carly beee's and, sure enough, you are... i said it. i couldnt remember who sang it, but knowing me, id find out. At Beth Moore tonight, they led into this "new song" that was supposed to be sung over as as a prepare-your-hearts sorta thing. as soon as the opening piano line played (you'll see what im talking about in a second) i knew what it was, and my arms just flew up and i was probably the only one in the room belting it out from my gut until everybody caught on. im telling you this:
its good. and its powerful. and its true. and its the absolute cry of my heart.

being satisfied with anything less than ordinary... or even ordinary itself... is not what, or where, God has called us to be living. And one of the cool things about Him, is that if He shows up the way the song asks, how completely UNordinary is His Presence! and just His Presence alone really is more extravagant than any blessing we could get.
Lord, i dont want Your blessing if i have Your Presence. and to be honest, im really good with that.

here are the lyrics, and below that is the video of the song. enjoy

Our beloved Father please come down and meet us
We are waiting on Your touch
Open up the heavens shower down Your presence
We respond to Your great love

We won’t be satisfied with anything ordinary
We won’t be satisfied at all

Open up the sky fall down like rain
We don’t want blessings we want You
Open up the sky fall down like fire
We don’t want anything but You

Our beloved Jesus we just want to see You
In the glory of Your light
Earthly things don’t matter they just fade and shatter
When we’re touched by love divine

Here we go let’s go to the throne
The place that we belong
Right into His arms

pass it on

you've heard the phrase, "be the change you want to see in the world" right?

so i decided to start the pass it on movement again today. i was driving around running some errands, and thought i should stop for a bite to eat... mama was craving a taco. so i pull through taco bells drive thru (great quality, i know) and it hit me. i need to be doing more for the people that i claim to have a passion for: people.

so i pull around, and as i was handing the employee my money, i told her to let me pay for the girls order behind me. all im saying is thank God i decided to do this at taco bell and not perry's. the drive thru worker asked, sorta hesitantly, if i knew her. i told her no but that if i could have any part in somebody else having a good day that i wanted to do it. she closed the window and came back with my straw and soda (which, might i add, is too large for my little cup holders... theyve gotta do something about that) and i went on my merry little way.

part of me really wishes i stuck around to see her face when she was told that she could put her money away... and to see how happy it might have made her feel. i wonder if she decided to 'pass it on' to the car behind her... and so on and so on.

i heard about somebody doing this a while back at a Starbucks, and how it went on for a couple hours or something like that. and to think - it had to start with just one person deciding to do it. i honestly, truthfully, just wanted to have the opportunity to play a part in making somebody's day a little bit better. i hope my goal was accomplished.

i am reminded of the words of my Healer when He said that whatever I did for the least of these I really did for Him. I want to live my life with that in the forefront of my brain. To give myself away. To give love away. its my calling and i think its yours too. How do we love? Not in big things, but in small things with great love.

So with all of that being said, I hope Jesus liked his tacos today. Or do you think He's more of a nachos bell grande guy?

the day of epiphany

two thousand and nine... wow.
in over 8,800 days in my lifetime (give or take the random leap year and lack of math skills), i have lived through 5 different US Presidents and 14 Olympic Games. In 1984, Apple introduced their first Macintosh computer and i think it's pretty safe to say that tv has come a long way since the debut of The Cosby Show. Im sure you, as my faithful and most likely more 'mature in years' reader, you could play this game too.
but when i think about this past year in particular... i am reminded of a prophecy that was spoken over me a few years back...
"You will grow ten years in one year."
There is no doubt in my mind that 2008 was my decade.

i dont exactly know what next to write, or to say. i am in utter awe of the things that God has brought me to and through in '08. and i can say that i look forward to the person that He is molding and creating in this person called carly b.

i was reading in a book earlier today and this dialogue jumped out and grabbed me by what felt like my throat. it went like this:
"You gotta have plans, Angel. You gotta hope for something in this world."
"Hope for what?"
"You can't get by any other way."
"I get by just fine."
"How?"
"I don't look back, and I don't look forward."
"What about now? You gotta think about now, Angel."
Angel smiled faintly and brushed her long, golden hair. "Now doesn't exist."

It gripped me because I think that was me. I think i lived a lot of my 8,800 days believing that now didn't exist and that tomorrow was too scary to face. some call it denial, i called it comfortable.

when you count your lifetime by the day, it puts things in perspective a little bit, doesnt it? i learned a lot last year and one of the things that ill hold with me for the rest of my days is that you dont really get a day-do-over. you dont get a second chance to live day #4,623. you get one shot.

but then you get technical and say that days are made of hours, of minutes, of seconds... blah blah blah...

however you want to measure it, days and years and lifetimes are made of moments. period.

so my new years resolution?
start counting by the moment.