Never More Than 24

I wrote a song once. I'd say it was spring of 2002, actually. It was titled 67. My buddy, Steve Pullen, and I were attempting to write a song about the lack of time in a day to accomplish what we dream to accomplish and how this can drive us to not dream, to excuse our life away and never accomplishing a thing. Far better though, this lack of time can drive us into the One who created time, who gave us limits and had intentions of those limits drawing us to Himself. This song was written, like most in my college days, on a random napkin and then stuffed into a journal and sadly over time has disappeared and the only line I remember is so random, "like the 67 colors of blue & grey in the sky." Like I said, random.

But lucky for Steve and me (and likely many of you), just months after we wrote our little ditty, the best band ever...oh, pardon me... I mean, my favorite band, Switchfoot released their gem of an album, "The Beautiful Let Down," and on that album was a song that would forever mark my life, Twenty-Four. This song said everything and more than Steve and I set out to say in our amateur little tune. Lyrically and musically this song penetrated deep into my soul at a very crucial time in life. It challenged me to dream, to dream big, to live in who God had made me to be, to press in to Christ and believe that He is who is says He is and He can do what He says He can do.

Years later this song still spurs me on. Many of you know that this last year was not the easiest of years we Burger's have known. My flesh wanted to give way to laziness, thinking there was just not time in the day to accomplish what we dreamed to accomplish. The Lord kindly reminded me of this song & the time in my life in 2002-2003. A phrase that kept coming in my head was, "Amber, there is never more than 24. What are you going to do?" So in effort to avoid falling in the trap and giving up, I began to make a list of things I would like to accomplish but tended to just talk myself out of, because after all, "there's only 24 hours in a day."

Some of what was on this list was::

read.

read more.

learn.

be creative.

give homemade gifts.

read more to the boys.

learn another instrument.

re-learn greek.

run more.

love my neighbors well.

talk less.

memorize portions of scripture that ive always wanted.

That, of course, was just a short version of the "Short term" goal list I began. I remember reading, just months before making my lists, that CJ Mahaney was quoted as saying something like, "only One accomplishes His to do list everyday and that is God." I had read many books from the Mahaney women on motherhood/being a wife and all of them talk about forming "to-do" lists as being a sweet form of humility and honestly, boy is it! The reality is:: you will not accomplish them all and that is fine, infact, its very freeing! But if you never have goals, laziness creeps in and quite frankly God is doing such a great work in our world, why would we want laziness to steal us away from being a part of it!?

So 9 years later, I am here writing you, My sweet blog friends, to say,"Y'all, there is NEVER more than 24!" Live each 24 hours to its fullest. Enjoy the moments. Take advantage of the now. Dream. Learn. Love. It is so worth it. These things were "easy" as a young, carefree college student but as a work-at-home/stay-at-home/homeschool mom I gotta preach this to my soul! The Lord is up to great things in your life and the enemy wants to steal it from you. Don't be overwhelmed by your "to do's." Let them drive you to the feet of Christ and enjoy Him there while you accomplish much in this life. May many hear of Christ through you as you go and do and be.

with hope::

Amber

For Lack of Better Words

If you have known me long, or maybe just stop by to read the blog now and again, you probably know that I am a music lover. Music of just about any type. (yes even country has its place in my heart...although WAY back in the back:) I feel deeply about music and how it moves people and reaches places that words alone can never reach. Journey back through history, studing cultures and there is hardly a culture, if any, that didn't have "their" music. I have often pondered how God created man with a song in their heart. Individual man yes but also man in the communal sense. It's as if music has this ability to bring cultures together. Older with younger, Asian with African, European with South American. There seems to be few boundaries that music cannot break.

That being said: I have an issue.

Lack of Superlatives, or rather, OVER USE of superlatives.

I was warned of this quite often by my dear friend Danny during college. About once a week, along with correcting my grammar, he would challenge me on a use of a superlative like: "how was the DNow?" "It was THE BEST ONE I have EVER played for" or "how's the new album?" "IT IS AMAZING, BEST album by FAR!" I think you get the picture. Each time I would over use the EST's and the AWESOME/AMAZING/BEST EVER statements, he would smirk and say, in his ever so kind way, "oh really." He continually challenged me on this. He said, "One of these days something is going to truly be THE BEST or AMAZING. How will anyone know if they can believe you or not?"

Well, just last week Danny and I were chatting on the phone, just getting caught up on life. And I said to Danny, "You know, all those times you warned me about over using my superlatives? Well, I have almost posted a blog about how truly AMAZING the Switchfoot concert in Dallas was and how FANTASTIC the new album is, but I can't bring my self to write it...because this time,well...it really is THE BEST/AMAZING. I feel like if I tell them this, they will just write me off as a dorky old fan and not give it any thought." He laughed and in the nicest way possible basically said, "I told you this day would come."

So folks, here I am, finally blogging, months later, about how AMAZING the new Switchfoot, Hello Hurricane Album is. If you are a long time fan or you are a Switchfoot newbie, your heart will be ministered too, your soul will be challenged and mind will be stronger. Lyrically and musically this album is mature and rich with real life, real feelings and real theology.

So please, read past the superlatives and go get the album....or better yet, grab tickets to this tour....worth every penny.

BEARCATS FOR LIFE

yes folks, today is SBU Homecoming, and not just any Homecoming, but my five year reunion Homecoming. Am I going? you ask, that would be a big NO. But of all the 2002 graduates I would guess that my desire to go is in the top 10%. I loved everyday of my SBU career. It was a place of spiritual growth, physical growth (haha) and of course Academic growth for me. I honestly cant think of any other place, except maybe Houston, where God molded me in every way. Not to mention all the friends and all the pranks! good times!
Now all you who are SBU Alumni in the DFW area, I expect to see you at the upcoming DFW SBU Alumni Picnic Saturday November 3 from 10-2! Andrea and Sarah I am talking to you!