For The Least of These

 

 

I just witnessed something amazing. Every week I watch Cornerstone Simi Valley’s sermons online, but this week really impacted me.   As he was ending his message, Francis explained that the worship team was going to lead them in a chorus.  He said that he wanted to adore Jesus for a little bit.  He then said that he was gonna put pictures of Jesus on the screen as they were going to sing.   As the church began to sing “Oh come let us adore him”, the screen had pictures of little children across the world.  This almost brought me to tears.
“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25:40

Get their podcasts on Itunes or listen to sermons online at http://www.cornerstonesimi.com/.

Here With Us

Ok, I know it’s after Christmas and it’s strictly taboo to play or even talk about Christmas music, but I am going to do just that. I heard my new favorite Christmas song. It’s “Here With Us” by Joy Williams.  A girl sang it at the Christmas Eve service I attended at Rock Harbor.  It’s beautiful.  The God of the Universe came down to a world He created as a tiny baby.  So amazing. It’s definitely worth listening to, even if it’s after Christmas. The words are below as well.

It’s still a mystery to me

 

That the hands of God could be so small,
How tiny fingers reaching in the night
Were the very hands that measured the sky

 

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Son of God, Servant King,
You’re here with us
You’re here with us

It’s still a mystery to me
How His infant eyes have seen the dawn of time
How His ears have heard an angel’s symphony,
But still Mary had to rock her Savior to sleep

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Son of God, Servant King
Here with us
You’re here with us

Jesus the Christ, born in Bethlehem
A baby born to save, to save the souls of man

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Heaven’s love reaching down to save the world
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Son of God, Servant King
You’re here with us
You’re here, with us

Top 10 Books I Read in 2008

Ok, well, I think I only finished  7 books in 2008, so this is a top 7 list, even though top 10 sounds so much better.  I bought a bunch of books off Amazon (really good prices for used books) and these are the ones that were worth finishing. 

 

 7.   Dangerous Faith– by Joel Vestal

  This is a great book if you are interested in missions or for anyone who has a heart for the world.  Joel Vestal shares stories of his time living abroad and practical advice for relating to the rest of the world.  The title of the first chapter sums it up, “The Bride is Bigger Than You Think.”

 

 6. To Own a Dragon–by Donald Miller

In this book Donald Miller shares about not having a father and his experiences from living with a family from his church in college.  He also shares how the lessons he learned points us to our Heavenly Father.

 

 

5.  The Next Generation Leader–By Andy Stanley

 Andy Stanley does a great job at showing how a great leader should live. I really enjoyed his stories and examples of leadership and will continue to read this book as I grow in my leadership.

 

 

4.  The New Friars–by Scott Bessenecker

This book shows the stories of young Christians who have voluntarily removed themselves from the comforts of society in order to seek justice and mercy with the poorest of the world’s poor.  These people follow Jesus’ example and became poor to reach the poor.  The stories will awe and inspire you. 

 

3. Under the Overpass–by Mike Yankoski

To understand homelessness better and gain a heart for those who were, college student Mike Yankoski became homeless on purpose.  He spent a few weeks in 5 different cities living on the streets and writes about his experiences.  I will never look at a homeless person the same again.

 

 

2.  The Only Road North —by Erik Mirandette

This is an amazing true story about three guys who ride dirt bikes from south to north across Africa.  This story isn’t wrapped up with a neat and tidy bow, and that’s what I like about it.

 

 

1. Crazy Love—by Francis Chan

My favorite book of the year and probably of all time. Francis Chan brings the Bible to life and shows how we can live our every day lives in light of it.

Help Me Get to Africa

Hey Everyone,

I am headed to South Africa in February and am in need of funds and prayer.  I am going to be working with an orphan home and a preschool in a community affected with AIDS and poverty.  If you are interested in helping me out, you can comment or email me at taylorlyall@gmail.com. Check the “Prayer Letter” section up top for the full explanation of what I’ll be doing. 

God Bless,

Taylor

Fiction Family

Jon Foreman is at it again. This time he joins with fellow musician, Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, to form Fiction Family.  I’m looking forward to the release of their new album in a few weeks. Check out their first video:

If you haven’t checked out any of Jon Foreman’s solo stuff, be sure to do that too. It’s some of the best music out there. If you don’t know Jon Foreman, he has fronted the band “Switchfoot” for over 10 years now.

When the World Ends

The other night I went to dinner with my co-workers. As we were sitting around the table, my boss had the idea to ask each one of us what we would do if the world would end tomorrow.  I don’t know why, but I guess this is dinner table conversation in their house.  I knew what I would say, but didn’t know if I should say it.  She came to me first very interested in what I had to say. “For fun or what I would actually do?” I asked her.  “What would you really do?” she said.  “Well, I would go out and talk to people about Jesus.”  I wasn’t ashamed to say it, or even that nervous. I am just not sure if this is right way to share the gospel with everyone at my work….at the same time.  I didn’t want to sound hokey, but I wanted to be honest. 

This led to a further conversation about what type of Bible I use and somehow led to the Dead Sea Scrolls. I am really glad the conversation happened.   I am just hoping I did more good than harm.  How do you share with those at your work or with others in your life?  I guess there is not one way that will be the same for everyone.

Holiday Blood

 

This is an awesome campaign to share Jesus over the holidays.  You can download these posters at their website and put them up in your city.  This leads people to the website where it shares the true love story of Christmas.

“And the first time that You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior, and the first breath that left Your lips, did You know that it would change this world forever?”  Relient K

Our Best

 

 

I had the opportunity last Saturday to attend the first ever Junky Car Club Rally.  The Junky Car Club was started by Mike Foster, to encourage others to drive an inexpensive car and donate more money to social justice causes.  This rally was not just for fun, but also to raise awareness of mobile homelessness (people living in their cars).  

The Junky Car Club was offering a free “Junk Pride” t-shirt to everyone who brought a bag of non-perishable food items.  So the night before, I headed to the local supermarket.  I filled my bag with the cheapest cans of peas, corn, chili and whatever else I could find. $8.23 seems like a good price for a cool shirt. 

After the rally, I heard a radio announcement about “The Jacket Project”. This is a project a local church is doing to get warm jackets for those who are homeless in their community.  One part of the announcement that caught my attention was that they were asking people to bring by their “warmest and nicest” jacket they owned.  This really struck me to the core.  I had given the cheapest cans of food I could find, but this group was asking for their best jacket. Why shouldn’t the homeless get our best? We have so much.

I Am Second

I was introduced to this website iamsecond.com by my buddy Josh. It is pretty amazing. It has an American Idol contenstant, a former NFL coach, a MLB All-Star, an actor, and a bunch of other ordinary people sharing their testimony about why they are second.  My favorite is Chris Plekenpol, a commander in the US Army, faced with the choice of saving the life of an Iraqi terrorist. Be sure to check it out.

Faithful

I was listening to “Faithful” by Brooke Fraser the other day.  It really seems to ring true in my life.

There’s distance in the air and I cannot make it leave
I wave my arms round about me and blow with all my might
I cannot sense you close, though I know you’re always here
But the comfort of you near is what I long for

When I can’t feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can’t hear you, I know you still hear everyword I pray
And I want you more than I want to live another day
And as I wait for you maybe I’m made more faithful

All the folly of the past, though I know it is undone
I still feel the guilty one, still trying to make it right
So i whisper soft your name, let it roll around my tounge,
knowing you’re the only one who knows me
You know me

Show me how I should live this
Show me where I should walk
I count this world as loss to me
You are all I want
You are all I want