My Redeemer Lives

This is a song that came to mind this morning and yesterday. I'll have to find it online. I haven't heard it lately but it kept coming to my mind. Maybe even for the last 3 days. I just know it's been for the last 2 days for sure.

My mother sent me a link about some guy with no limbs and his inspiring story and I'll post the link after I watch it, to share.

I also have one about Delia Knox who was healed from being a parylitic. It's online under her name if anyone wants to look it up.

I talked with a Muslim woman this morning who was kind enough to answer some of my questions and we chatted for awhile. It was a nice conversation. I asked God, while we were talking, "God, could you give me something about her life?" and I saw her (minds eye, not a vision) on a bicycle. I wasn't sure, so I asked, to be vague, "Can Muslim women exercise or ride a bike?" and she said yes. She was wearing headscarf and long dress and no make up so I wondered. Then she told me she used to ride a bike a lot but didn't have one right now. I asked her what she did to relax and she brought up the bike again. Then we talked about making time for things like this, and I asked if there was anything she did or was planning to do and she said she was getting a bike. ! I told her I had sort of had some impression of her on a bike a lot and it was really great because it was even a non-religious thing that made us both smile. I told her how I was trying to do this too (make time for physical care or health) and got a gym membership.

At any rate, she converted to Islam when she was young and freely shared her religion or what she believed. We mainly talked about Islam and nothing else and she said they believed spiritual was first but also physical and emotional were important. I introduced myself to her because I had thought about visiting a mosque and then saw her and wanted to ask some questions. I didn't know if she was Muslim or not but wondered and so I asked. I didn't realize Friday is their holy day (or church day) either.

Then I checked my mail and got some links from my mom to look up about a guy with no limbs and I passed someone today who was without an arm and holding his coffee somehow.

Also, I have to buy a homeless news newspaper for this month but haven't yet. I sort of bugged out when I saw the headline and then postponed. I was at the worksource building on Tuesday? or Wednesday I guess, and someone had the latest edition on the table which said "prince william inspired by homeless newspaper vendors". Those were the guys I had high-fived spontaneously in a line the other day. They were all homeless newspaper vendors in line to pick up their next edition to sell.

I thought about it and thought this was a good way to lend ones name to something. I also thought about not writing about it but why not? so what? he's always been into homeless things and if it's a coincidence that I high fived a line up of the same guys, then all the more notice for the efforts of homeless and the fact that many are normal people who are doing what they can to pay bills or spread a message even. When I later saw one of the guys I had high fived he recognized me and asked how I was doing and I said I had felt encouraged and sort of inspired at the moment and he agreed. I guess I thought "I can't buy that paper" or that I shouldn't say anything in case I got more royal mockery flack, but it really is a bigger deal to be mum about something that everyone could take notice of.

And then, yesterday, I had another insight about homeless because I passed a cardboard sign on the sidewalk that said "Homeless God". I had at first felt almost offended, thinking of God homeless. Then I later thought, "ohmygosh, he was" and thought about, for example, Jesus without a place to be born and homeless. He was born in a homeless shelter. I mean, in a sense. Which made me feel more humble and how I would rather choose my opportunities for humility than be forced into it. Which is maybe another lesson in humility, if I want to pick and choose my sacrifices or fasts. And then the other day too, I thought, "I've been tortured. I'm still tortured occasionally. Do I really need to fast? Probably, maybe, being tortured is pretty good all by itself." But, back to homeless God, then I thought about this photo of a man who was a shepherd and it was in US Today for Christmas I think and I liked it because it helped me to grasp how amazing the idea of a shepherd is.

By Nicole Mullen, My Redeemer Lives:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p4G2GbPYQA

I am on a shepherd theme right now because last night before bed I opened up to Song of Songs 1:6-8. About finding where the beloved tends his sheep. To follow the footsteps and this sort of made me think about a Christmas message at church about following Adams steps to the Garden of Eden (but I didn't fully grasp the whole idea as I'm not familiar with the parable). Then this morning I turned to 2 different similiar passages, before getting out of bed. First was I Kings 8:14-30 where Solomon declares God's faithfulness and about how he is building a temple for God but how can God be contained anywhere? and then I was at Psalms 78:65-72 about how David was taken from the sheep pen and made a skillful shepherd over people. Which is what made me think about that photo of the modern day shepherd and what a dramatic turn of events this must have been, even for that time and era.
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Oh! I just went back to my email and just as I was posting a link to the song My Redeemer Lives, my mother sent me a link to the same song, which she told me she has on a CD. I am wondering if this is psychic mother-daughter stuff.

(Just don't call my name psychicly anymore Mom, it's freaking me out.)

Here is the link she sent:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC6RXAJpPjo

With this note:
"No video, but excellent rendition of My Redeemre; I've got this on a CD."

Well, I have to check out the other link to the limbless guy.

Then my mom sent another link! This one is in Spanish and sign language:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKrBqD7uhBM&feature=related

(her Spanish is really good! I look at the shirt which is cute but it makes me glad my parents decided to name me Cameo instead of "Calico". Meow.)