I feel bad for people who say they have spent their whole lives chasing the American Dream. I mean, yeah, dying as an American is the best worldly death you can die, but the best LIFE YOU CAN LIVE is as a Christian serving the Lord with all your heart, mind, and soul! And- JUST THINK- to die as a Christian far more exceeds even that! Paul said it pretty concisely to the church at Philippi:
"For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." -Philippians 1:21
You go, Paul- four for you, Paul. I can't say it was easy to come to the realization that I am living an American Dream right now, and I need to rid myself of many worldly things I am attached to. I didn't have to do much chasing for this dream to become a reality, but whoa, it is sure weighing heavy on my heart. I read most of the book while I was out of the United States, so it was pretty simple to separate myself from those things for a short bit, but coming back to it for the past 6 months definitely hasn't seemed to matter to me- I haven't made much of a conscious effort to delete anything. I have only made it more chaotic by trying to juggle things like TV, music, movies, praying and reading the Bible. Which one of those doesn't belong? Well, that would be the first 3 things. Do you know how hard it is to study God's Word while watching TV? Warning: do not try that at home! Time to take action! Time to get with the program! Time to crush those American Dreams! Below are the lyrics to a GREAT song about giving up your American Dreams that I heard when I visited David Platt's church in Birmingham with some friends. The youtube link embedded in the Title sends you to a random video with her song in the background, and a more upbeat fuller-band version is available on iTunes.
Do you have dreams to crush? Are there some things you need to let go of so you can serve Christ with all your heart, mind, and soul?
Random side note: I accidentally left that book (and my journal) on an airplane in Singapore. Go figure. I do still hope that someone found both of those things and decided to read them, and that their life was change by it in some manner.
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Stranger by Mandi Mapes
just another day in a beautiful town where money makes the world go round caught in a place where no matter what I do I feel let down 'cause I keep chasing all these funny things that don't even matter in the end this world is not my home I am a stranger in this country Jesus in me won't You pour me out I'm ready to abandon all my shiny things my family, and this American dream, Lord come take it all from me until there's nothing left but You Lord, open my eyes that I may see the brevity of my life may Your Word tear down my sinful heart and fill me with new desires by Your Spirit I will live for You and love You with all my soul so have Your way in me and let Your kingdom come
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