Look Up.

Well, I've thought a lot over the past few years about who I am as a person, who I am as a songwriter, who I am as a singer, why I've undertaken this whole musical adventure, and what I really hope to be able to say to the world through my music.

I'm still formulating this, but I think I might have a mantra for life--for how to find God, and thus find JOY.

LOOK UP.

Someday this will turn into a song, but here's my preliminary brainstorm about it:
  
When God gives me sunsets, friends, ideas, innocent little eyes, or quiet moments, I can look up to Him and say "thanks."  I'm so much happier when I'm grateful!

When things go wrong, when I'm confused, when I'm scared, when there are too many voices and I can't figure out which one is right... I can spin myself into a frenzy looking around, or I can just look up, and ask Him for peace.  

When I look down too much, at myself and at my own problems, I feel grumpy and ugly and friendless and inadequate.  When I look up, God helps me look around and see people all over the place who could use a smile or a hug or a kind word.  I feel happier when I look up.

When we overvalue earthly things--power, fame, material possessions, etc. it makes us look down and lose focus on what really matters and what will really bring us joy.  Looking down on fleeting, earthly things, fill us with darkness.  But if we look up, focus on things that last forever, and keep our eye single to His glory, we will be" filled with LIGHT."

It's easy to look around, and play the comparison game.  I feel yucky and prideful if I label myself as "more organized" or "more healthy" than so and so, and I feel insecure and defensive if I label someone else as "prettier" or "smarter" than I am, so it's pretty much a losing battle either way.   Don't look around to find your worth.  Look up. Zion is where everyone looks up to God and tries to be like HIM, instead of everyone looking around and somehow grading their eternal progress on a curve.

I think looking up means learning to see God in the details of our lives.  Seeing a brand new flower.  Hearing a child giggle.  Dealing with a whiny 4 year-old and understanding that I have acted this way toward God so many times.  Every little experience can teach us something new about God if we just look up.


Regret looks back.  Worry looks around.  Faith looks up. 

Like I said, preliminary thoughts.  But I'm going to keep pondering this. 

What do you think it means to Look Up?