Overcomer

I've always been someone who found inspiration all around me. Back in the years when I was a single working mom there were a lot of people in my orbit and a lot of places to draw inspiration. Since I'm mostly home most of the time now, that orbit has shrunk quite a bit but thanks to the magic of the internet, I am exposed to a lot of people, many of them providing inspiration.

From the blog, "I Life Up My Eyes to the Hills"....
Here's what I read in my Jesus Today:  "I am taking care of you.  I know how hard this is to believe when conditions that are troubling you get worse instead of better.  It's easy to feel as if I am letting you down-as if I really don't care about what you're going through.  You know I could instantly change your circumstances, and you can't understand why I seem to be so unresponsive to your prayers.  But I repeat:  I am taking care of you.  

She's battling ovarian cancer and things are not looking good. She's one of so many warriors. Everywhere you look on the internet (and in real life, I suppose) there are people who are suffering, facing disaster, discouraged, lonely... and in every mess there is the potential for a message. I'm listening to a lot of those messages lately. 

I'm not really into popular music. It's not that I have anything AGAINST popular music. I mean, there's a lot of stuff out there that I find offensive and some of the lifestyles of the performers are particularly disgusting *cough*JustinBieber*cough*.  Mostly I listen to Contemporary Christian music because I need the encouragement. However, there is a song by Katie Perry that I really love - "Roar". I'm going to try to embed a video for you that was made by a group of kids with cancer. 

If you have a few minutes, listen to this. I promise, there are no bad words and you can actually understand what she's saying. Katie Perry seems to be really good at doing this kind of enthusiastic anthem. She's not pulling me back into the secular music scene but this song is a great encouragement for people - any people - who are suffering. 

I hate reading lyrics but I'm going to put them here for those of you who don't/can't pull up the youtube link. You'd rather listen to it, though. This video is amazing. 

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

You held me down, but I got up (hey!)
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, your hear that sound
Like thunder, gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up
Get ready 'cause I had enough
I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, the fire
Dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!

Read more: Katy Perry - Roar Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Good stuff. There is another song out right now on Christian radio that has this same theme of being strong and... well, being an overcomer. It's actually called "Overcomer" and it's by Mandisa. She's been a favorite of mine for several years because she can belt these big anthems and out of the three CD's I've bought in the past five years, hers is one of them. Here's a video with lyrics of Mandisa's song. 

And lyrics... just part of them.... but they're even better than "Roar", if you ask me. (And since you're reading here, I'm going to assume that you're semi-interested in my opinion on things.) 
You're an overcomer
Stay in the fight ‘til the final round
You're not going under
‘Cause God is holding you right now
You might be down for a moment
Feeling like it's hopeless
That's when He reminds You
That you're an overcomer
You're an overcomer

This just piggy backs on my entry from yesterday. I've got a lot of reasons to be pretty miserable right now and I just can't be. I went out this morning to buy groceries and I was able to buy groceries. I was able to put gas in a car that I own. I'm able to insure that car despite not having worked in almost six months. I was in a good bit of pain by the time I got home but I did what I had to do. 

There's a chill in the air and we're headed down toward freezing tonight. The cold air is refreshing. There are white caps on the lake from the strong wind. It's so much better than the constant rain we had all summer. The leaves aren't at peak yet but they're definitely changing colors and everywhere I look there's all this incredibly beauty. 

So what if my body doesn't work like it used to? I'm still getting where I need to go, finding lots of beauty and inspiration in the world around me and that makes every day worth waking up to. 

Thanks for inspiring me to gather my thoughts everyday and share them with the knowledge that there are people out there who want to hear what I have to say. Love and hugs, y'all.