JAMIE'S STORY - STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

I just got Jamie’s EP (Hold Me) and I’m listening to a song titled ‘Holding on’ off it. I first saw Jamie Grace Harper on iShine TV via TBN some months back and a couple of weeks back I heard she was signed to Gotee records (TobyMac, Out Of Eden, FamilyForce5). And really her music is all fun, cool, real and God centered. The joy can be felt, there’s no fronting on this one. As the music plays on something beyond it brings a deep smile to my face - Jamie has a story to tell and without putting words in her mouth I’ll let her tell it.

My life with Tourette syndrome by Jamie-Grace, 15

 

Well growing up I was like a regular kid. I had friends over, went to their houses, watched movies, rode my bike, you know, "kid stuff". But it sort of changed when I was around eight. I started to blink a lot, like blinking with force, and my arms and legs kept bending rapidly. I was pretty scared considering I couldn't help the movements and so they were just "happening" and when I didn't make these movements, I felt horrible and made myself make them if my body didn't make the movements first.

I saw different doctors, and had different tests. Over this time I started to make a squealing noise and started to repeat almost anything I heard. I also had little things I had to do and things I had to touch and say.

When I was 11-years-old I was diagnosed with Tourette syndrome (TS) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). TS is a disorder that causes "tics". Tics are sounds and movements that cannot be controlled. OCD is something a lot of people with TS have. It’s where you become obsessed over saying, touching, and doing "random" things.

Coping with OCD

My OCD got harder to control in public, and my TS grew embarrassing as I got more tics. I was then put on different medicines, because that was the only way to see what would work. Some weren't too bad and some weren’t all that great.

Now I also have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Echolalia (I repeat most things I hear.) It's hard, very, but I try not to let it get the best of me. When I have my good days, I am sure to make the best of it. Even my "bad" days! I just have to not let TS wear me down.

It's like what Tim Howard [Premier League footballer who has TS] said, "Tourette Syndrome is a speed bump, not a stop sign”.*

Jamie’s Story is changing me. I’m left without words as I curl up on a couch and type this. A scripture comes to mind . . . no two.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

-          1 John 5: 4-5

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? . . . . . .

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

-          Romans 8: 35 and 37

More than ever, I’m inspired to step out no matter what. For the child of God, nothing has got the power to kill our passion, purpose and God-given dream. This is someone who can hide behind a medical disorder but chooses to step out with the strength of God and bless the world with her God-given talent.

There might be mountains but would we forget that we pocket faith like mustard seeds that can move our mountains into the seas?

We might be weak but would we forget that the Joy of the Lord is strength enough?

There might be dark days when the sun won’t shine but would we forget that the Light of the world lives on our inside?

I don’t want to forget. I want to be strong for those I love and my generation. I want to live every single moment in victory. I don’t think I would be bold enough to face my King if I don’t live and finish strong. He’s given me all I need to live a victorious life (2 Peter 1:3) so what’s my excuse?

I’m enamored by the grace that flows through Jamie Grace Harper’s story. And my heart also goes out to everyone who is in a place out there that seems they’ve been locked in with no keys to get out. If you know Jesus, you know the one who has the keys to any bondage of any sort. He can set you free and set you on the part of victorious living to make an impact in your world.

These things should make us stronger whatever the situation. Be encouraged. Let Jamie’s story inspire you. You can do all things . . . yes, through Christ who strengthens you. No matter the limitations life has dealt you let them be an invitation to rise higher. Till next time it still me your boy,

The King’s Son

U R LUVED 

P.S. - You Can Check out Jamie Grace’s Album Review right here.

Jamie's new EP

And for a free song by Jamie grace click here

* http://www.childrenfirst.nhs.uk/teens/health/mental_health/book1/rs_tour_jg.htm

SUNDAY BLOG - INFLUENCING A STORY

TEMPORARY HOME

I saw Carrie Underwood some days back after a very long time. A friend of mine just gave me the DVD of the 2011 Grammys after giving me a thousand and one reasons why I should watch this year's edition. Justin Beiber did this, Lady Gaga moved that way, the all new beau Esparanda Spalding who stole the coveted award for best new artist ( now that's shocking and not so shocking, shocking : I never heard of Esparanda till my friend mentioned her. Not so shocking : Grammy always does that, I mean, with people like Norah Jones, like nobody knew her before Grammy forced her on the world. :)). So here was I with the awards and later that same nights I decided to skim through, (if you call watch for some five minutes and fast forward and watch for some another five minutes then continue. . . And then fast forward and then go back to the beginning of this sentence :) ).
So here I am settled in a comfy chair and watching people taking up awards and thanking God and their fans and also the girl with the red hair dancing and singing ' hey na na what's my name'. Now tell me how on earth did she get to forget? I guess I forgot too :D . One moment steals my heart away in all of this. It's when the nomination for best female country artist ( with vocals I think, I'm not really sure of the category but I know it has to do with female, country and music). The nominees are scrolling and Carrie Underwood shows up singing a number which she was nominated for. And I was like waoh! That sound still haunts me still. Soft, poignant, and beyond the surface. I could see it in Miss Underwood's eyes, the deepness. If you know what I'm talking about. She had something beyond the words and the music she wanted to express. All I could remember from the song was ' this is my temporary home'. I am in no way recommending this song cause I myself haven't listened to it in full length but all I just want to say is it's amazing how we can be captured in a moment if heart is expressed indeed. And it's got me thinking, how many lives would be touched if I decide to live from my heart from day to day.

GIRL

I remember walking down a road once and I saw a girl coming the other way. It was a busy afternoon. People In shorts and shades and everything looked so beautiful still. The hustle and bustle of the city and there she comes in shades, wearing something trendy and just cute for the weather. I must confess, she was indeed adorable. I have never met her before but sincerely I just wanted to walk up to her and tell her how good she looked, the attire and all. But I was simply held back . . . By the fear I guess. The fear of simply looking stupid. 'just mind your business boy'. I walked past her and I heard in me ' you just missed a chance to influence a story. . . She really could have used some compliments'. I missed that opportunity. I missed the chance to give someone a reason to smile. I missed the chance to change someone's story forever. So sad the opportunities we miss all because of the fear.

STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART

Can we imagine . . . A world , yeah a world were hope, love and all the good things are the languages spoken. Each of us are learning to be selfless and living more for the other. There is so much love to go round and our hearts are bursting forth with the joy of freedom. Can we imagine a world like that?
I hear people complain a lot of the amount wickedness, harshness, pain, and cruelty available in the world. I really don't want that and I don't want to be a contributor to that. To let love lead the way in our life journey is a choice. It's time we stopped complaining about all the wrong things. It's time we stood up and do the right things. It's time we started living deeply straight from the heart. It's time we started giving compliments more freely from the deepest part of us without sarcasm or flattery. It's time we gave a genuine smile and reassure someone ' I will be there for you no matter what'. It's time guys. I hear you asking ' what if I don't have what it takes?'. Well maybe it's time we rolled up ourselves and get the strength we need

GOD SOLUTIONS

I run into a brick wall most times I try to tell someone how to live a better live without mentioning Jesus. Are there lasting solutions to Earth's problems without him? Really I've been thinking hard about that for a while and I have come to a conclusion - I really don't think so.
I remember reading a book on politics in the developing countries of the world and the author after discussing the various election problems faced in such countries gave various solutions based on his scientific research. Before the end of the book, the author himself was already highlighting the problems arising from his solutions and I'm like what in the world is wrong? We just can't save ourselves. We need God solutions.

WHERE TRUE STRENGTH COMES FROM

I love the church. Though not perfect yet she''s blooming in her entirety in this new generation. She is coming to realize her place from a God view and from a world view
From a world view- She's needed. She's the only one who can provide the solution to the CORE human PROBLEM. Even if the world wouldn't admit that, it yearns still for it's manifestation
From a God view- She is God's hands and feet on the earth. Better said God's body on the earth.

Dogs would always bark no matter what you try to change about them. We really can't force ourselves to produce that which isn't in us. It takes love to love. The emphasis of us needing God and being a part of his living body (the church) in these matters cannot be over emphasized. We need God to live a life that doesn't dwell in self. We need the provisions of the father in his son Jesus to be the new people needed to make a change in a world already believed by many to have gone wrong. Otherwise our dogs will still bark no matter how we want them to sing a love song. It's in God, it in God guys and all he has for us through his son Jesus that true strength comes.
My prayer, that we are there for someone else and not just ourselves, that we take time to give compliments and it isn't only us that look good in our eyes, that we garner the courage to roll up our sleeves from someone else when their world seems to be falling apart and that we live from our hearts and get out of the cocoon of self, cause it's then we TRULY begin to live.

P.S. - and yeah I hope you all enjoyed last week's offerings. Something bigger is on the way :D


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

MY STORY

Paul kept telling a story through his letters to the churches
He kept describing how an amazing God snatched him out of a road to no where
How he met the Light of the world on the road to Damascus
He kept telling it with Joy
The joy of grace. . .

Who are you?
What were you rescued from?
What road were you travelling before this journey?
Did you see a light on the road to Damascus?
In these answers is your story
Take time to answer to know your story
When you have known it
Let the power behind it give you enough strength to say with boldness in your eyes 'This is my story'
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN

NIGHTLIGHTS

Its night

I stare out my window for a ray of light

It's dark and cold

Blackness covers the face of God's green earth

My heart goes out to a lone traveler trying to make his way through

Navigating the roads of earth for a safe abode

Journeying in darkness praying for the morning sun

I join him as I pray along that the morning comes

It's a desperate move

It's a desperate act

His is a desperate heart

To grope in darkness for a safe abode

To find treasures with no lights on

It must be a measure of survival

Can't he rest his head?

At least for the night

My heart goes out to him

With prayers to find treasures without the light

With prayers to find his path through the night

With prayers for a morning light

But in the reality of things

And there was no light

The world gropes in darkness

The people search for treasures without a light

It's a need not just wants

It's a measure of survival

My lonely stranger is me

My lonely stranger is you

I am a light of the world

But what happens when I choose to hide under a bushel?

I leave my world in a night that lasts forever

Then we grope

Pounce around and hit each other

There is a commotion

There is a birth of grudge

I am a light of the world

A city on a hill

Can I stop changing the position of this beautiful city?

Heaven has found a place in my heart

Its better I let it stay

It's a responsibility we've been given

Yes us Christians

Yes us who have chosen to walk the path of The Nazarene

Can we be the light we are called?

Can we?

Imagine a night that lasts forever

A part of our lives are hindered

We can't live as we should

The fear of the dark alone is torment enough for some

Now imagine more

A world with never ending mornings

The light never goes out

The people are happy

They find a sense of direction for their lives

Purpose is renewed

Dreams are achieved

Intimacy with the Divine isn't a fairytale any longer

That's the world we were called to live in

That's the world we are made for

Only if our Christianity was more than having something to fill in the religion column of forms

Only if our Christianity made it through Sunday night norms

Imagine a world where my lone traveler finds clarity

He's in the night but it seems like day

We are the light and nothing seems gray

He's convinced of right and wrong

He chooses right cause he knows it would lead him to his long lost treasure

I'm still at my window and my heart goes out to a lone traveler in the dark

Prayers are that he would find his way in the night

Prayers are that he would see the light

And prayers are that we would take up the cause we've been given as children of the light to be the light

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless device from MTN