Observations on Worship

Last night, I went to the singing worship at Downtown Church of Christ and on Thursday, I went to the singing devo that is on campus. And both times, I was moved to tears. So I got to thinking. How awesome is worship going to be in heaven?

We think worship sounds great if there are 100 people there. What about the billions of people in the world that will go to heaven? And then you factor in generations. There will be more people in heaven than we can fathom..and some day we will all be praising God. It was very humbling and exciting at the same time.

So my encouragement is to worship God this week with your life, whether by praying or being nice to someone or whatever you choose to do.

Be salt and light!!

~Hannah~

Live Like You Were Dying

One of my favorite country songs is a song by Tim McGraw entitled "Live like you were dying". This song has been one of my favorites for awhile, as it really speaks to me. So first, I would encourage you to listen to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNWg5DlWVa8

This song really encourages me to be a better person. I know that may sound a little strange, but imagine if everyone lived as if today was their last. Don't get me wrong, I think we do need to make plans for the future. But if everyone lived like they were dying, I think people would be more forgiving, more loving, and kinder in general to people. Life is too short to live any other way than to live every day to it's full potential.

So this is my encouragement for this week. Pray that God shows you ways to be kind to people and to open your heart to forgive those who need forgiving. Live your life to it's fullest- love deeper, speak sweeter, and give forgiveness to those you've been denying. Especially the love deeper part, because love covers over a multitude of sins :)

Have a WONDERFUL week, and be salt and light!!
~Hannah Stone~

"Christmas time" is over...now what?

So, I love Christmas. I know that's probably a very cliché statement, but it's such a wonderful season. For the couple of weeks leading up to Christmas, people are just nicer. Granted, there will still be the grumpy people that are grumpy no matter what. But there is just a feeling in the air around Christmas that makes everything seem...well, magical. Yes, I said it. Magical. It's “the most wonderful time of the year”, as the popular song states. There seems to be less people honking at cars on the road. People seem more apt to let someone cut in on the highway, or even in line at a store if they are in a hurry. Christmas is the only time strangers can stand on other stranger's porches and sing songs to them and it's not considered strange. You see people donating time and money to the Salvation Army, you see people going out of their way to help complete strangers. My church does a wonderful outreach called “stars of hope”, and every year I am amazed at the outpouring of love and kindness I see from the members of the church. I could tell a hundred stories from the past few years of helping with the stars of hope, but more details on that may be for another time. My point is, Christmas is a time when you see people reaching out to help each other and there is a feeling of peace.

Here we are, a couple weeks later. Life is back to normal. People are honking again, cutting people off on the highway, and I'm pretty sure if someone stood on my porch and started singing to me, I would probably be a little weirded out. There are no more Salvation Army people on the street corners, and it seems that the Christmas spirit has been replaced by the complacency and routine that exists for about 50 weeks of the year. This makes me sad.

Why do we wait until Christmas to go out of our way to help people? Why does the patience and love that seems to abound at Christmas suddenly disappear? Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth. Yes I know, I know. He was probably born in the spring because the evidence suggests (insert facts indicating Jesus was born in the spring here). But we don't know the exact date. And quite frankly, I don't think that it matters when someone was born, just that we remember and celebrate it. So, December 25 is as good a day as any to celebrate Jesus' birth around the world. But as Christians, we don't just celebrate his birth on Christmas and then let it go. We celebrate his birth, and his life, and his death and resurrection all year round. We do more good things around Christmas in the name of Jesus. Why should that be different than the other 364 days? I think that in some ways, Christmas should be just another time of the year that Christians do great things to help people. How great will the day be when every day is like Christmas? Not in the sense of getting presents, but in going out of our way to help strangers just because it's the right thing to do.

So this is my challenge to you. Not just for today, or this week, or this year. But always try to keep the same attitude that you have at Christmas. Always be looking for ways to improve someone's life, whether a closest friend or a stranger. And remember, by doing this, you might be entertaining an angel.

MerryAlways-Christmas, and be salt and light!!

~Hannah~

Picnic lunch with great friends=perfect day.

Today I got the opportunity to go to lunch with two of my best friends. Not only a lunch...a picnic lunch at botanic gardens. It was beautiful and the best weather. I know I've already written a post about friends, but I wanted to reemphasize what wonderful friends I have. Matthew is one of my best friends, and we can talk about anything. Katie has been one of my best friends for a long time, and I can always count on her to make me smile or laugh when I need to. What makes them such good friends is that we can have great conversations about God and life in general. Today was such a good day, and now I'm in a really good mood. It made me really think about how blessed I am. I know I've said this a lot in previous posts. But think about you and your life. Do you have friends that you can tell anything to? Have you thanked God for them lately? I really took my friends for granted, and then when I got to college I realized how much they really impacted my life. My challenge for this week is to think about your good friends, the ones that your closest to, and thank God for them. And then thank them for being there for you and let them know how much they mean to you.

Be salt and light!!
~Hannah~

I'm Back :)

So, I came home for Christmas break and took about a month off from the blog, because I was so busy. I'm back in full force now, and excited about writing about my Christmas and other such things. Today I just wanted to talk a little bit about my family. I have the best family ever, hands down. I got the opportunity to see my close family and extended family. My family is a very close bunch, and I will definitely be dedicating more blogs to them. But this Christmas really let me appreciate more what a wonderful family I have and how truly blessed I am. They're so much fun to be around, and we are always laughing and talking. Christmas is my favorite time of the year. People make fun of me because I tend to go a little overboard in my enthusiasm for the holiday, but it's a time when you just get to relax and be around family and friends. You also see more kindness in people (more about that in my next post). I mainly just wanted to write to say that I'm back, and that I've already started writing my next several blog posts. I hope your Christmas was wonderful!

Be salt and light!
~Hannah~

People do the right thing...Just to do the right thing.

Sorry it's been awhile, finals are next week so it's a little stressful. I don't really have any profound thoughts, just a few comments about life as I've seen it this week.

I just started watching the tv show "What would you do". Yes, I realize that this show is in it's 5th season and I'm a little late coming in on it. But it has actually really been encouraging to me this week. For those of you who have never seen the show, the producers hide cameras at a park, in a store, etc, and stage dramatic events to see how people would really react. For example, they had an episode where they had two teenagers act as though they had been drinking and were going to drive. Every single time, someone would stop the teens from getting in the car. After these people react, the host lets them in on the secret and asks them why they reacted in the way they did. The usual answer is "because it was the right thing to do". This show highlights people doing the right thing...just because it's the right thing to do.

I really have enjoyed this show, because usually TV shows or news stations focus on the bad things happening in life, instead of the good so it's refreshing to see something good and uplifting on TV.

I would encourage you to look around you and see how people are reacting to things around them, and be one of those people who does the right thing just because it's what you should do.

Be salt and light!
~Hannah~

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Yes, for those of you wondering about the title of my post, that is a movie. A children's movie, but possibly one of my favorite movies of all times. It follows the adventures of an eccentric toy store owner (Mr. Magorium..but is he really eccentric? more about that later), the manager of the store (Molly Mahoney), a frequent patron of the store/part time help (Eric Applebaum) and the "villian" of the story who is an accountant/sceptic (Henry Weston). Mr. Magorium decided his time on earth is up (and after 243 years of being alive, who wouldn't?) so he bequeaths his store to Molly Mahoney. Mr. Magorium has never taken inventory, so he hires an accountant to figure out the worth of the store (enter Henry Weston). When the toy store hears that Mr. Magorium is leaving, it throws a temper tantrum. Oh, have I mentioned that this is a magical toy store? It has the same characteristics of a child, hence the temper tantrum. The movie progresses as Molly tries to convince Mr. Magorium not to leave, Eric tries to make friends, and Henry tries not to be so uptight. 


I know, I know. "Ok Hannah. This is a movie about a magical toy store. Why on earth are you telling us this?" 


Well, because this movie has some of the greatest quotes from any movie I have ever seen. I'm a huge "quote fan", I guess. I love quotes that make me think, and this movie was a thinker. The substance and thought behind this movie surprised me, and since it will probably never be a really famous movie (although Dustin Hoffman stars in it, it is 5 dollars at target..a point my sister who does NOT like the movie tends to point out) I thought I would share some of the quotes with you.


Warning- There are spoilers for if you have not seen the movie. 
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When Mr. Magorium is in the hospital, Henry tells Molly that he is worried, because he can not find any insurance papers for Mr. Magorium. Molly gets frustrated, thinking that Henry doesn't care about Mr. Magorium. Henry replies "You know, some people... send flowers, or cards, or... give people hugs. I... make sure their paper work's all in order." This quote helped me realize that some people show that they care in different ways, so we have to be careful before jumping to the conclusion that someone doesn't care. They may just express it differently than we do. 
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Molly Mahoney, went Mr. Magorium tells her that he's leaving- "Are you dying?"
Mr. Magorium -"Lightbulbs die my sweet. I will depart."
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Eric: My hat's stuck. 
Molly: Ha... looks like you're gonna need a ladder. 
Eric: Naah. I just need to jump higher. 
Molly: Eric... that's seven feet, at least. 
Eric: Seven feet? Really? 
Molly: At least. 
Eric: You think I should get a running start? 
The film shows Eric after a bit hanging from the ledge where his hat was stuck, and we hear him say "got it". This is just one quote from the movie that emphasizes the importance of having a positive attitude, because most things thought impossible are possible if one has the right attitude. 
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When Molly tries to explain to Henry that it's a magical toy store, Henry Weston says that it may be special, but that it's "just" a toy store, prompting the following dialogue. 


Molly: I knew it. As soon as I saw that suit. 
Henry: Knew what? 
Molly: You're a 'just' guy.
Henry: What's a 'just' guy? 
Molly: A guy just like you. Same hair, same suit, same shoes, walks around, no matter what, you think it's all just a store, it's just a bench, it's just a tree. It's just what it is, nothing more! 
Henry: Alright but this... is just a store.
Molly: I'm sure to you... it is. 
~~~~~~~~~~
In order to try and convince Mr. Magorium to stay on earth, Molly takes him through the "perfect day". This is one of my favorite scenes. As one of the "great things", she takes him to a clock store where they change all the clocks to a few seconds before noon, so that they will all go off at the same time. This is one of my favorite lines from the movie.


Molly: Ok. 37 seconds. Now..we wait.
Mr. Magorium: No. We breathe. We pulse. We regenerate. Our hearts race, our minds create, our souls ingest. 37 seconds well used..is a lifetime.
This quote makes me wonder how much life I have in my life. (Complicated, I know :) ) 
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And last quote for the day, because this post is getting rather long. I think I will get a part two up here in a day or two, because again I love the quotes from this movie. This is the scene when Mr. Magorium "departs". Molly appeals to him one last time not to go, and this is Mr. Magorium's response. This is my favorite quote from any movie...ever, and I think it is such a great line. 


Mr. Magorium:When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written "He dies." That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is "He dies." It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with "He dies." And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words "He dies." but because of the life we saw prior to the words. I've lived all five of my acts, Mahoney, and I am not asking you to be happy that I must go. I'm only asking that you turn the page, continue reading... and let the next story begin. And if anyone asks what became of me, you relate my life in all its wonder, and end it with a simple and modest "He died." 
Molly: *sniff* I love you
Mr. Magorium: I love you too. Your life is an occasion. Rise to it.