Wishing for the voice of God to shake the mountains today...to speak clearly to my heart so that I could know....frustrated beyond belief today...needing the voice of God to soothe my mind, soften my heart, and help me see Him at work in this mess I call my life. And trying, with each fragile breath to praise Him, trust Him through it all....
Saturday, November 19, 2011
This Fragile Breath...
Wishing for the voice of God to shake the mountains today...to speak clearly to my heart so that I could know....frustrated beyond belief today...needing the voice of God to soothe my mind, soften my heart, and help me see Him at work in this mess I call my life. And trying, with each fragile breath to praise Him, trust Him through it all....
Friday, November 18, 2011
Worship Fully
At my church this year, we are focusing on the theme of "Rethinking Christmas" during advent. We will be looking at these areas: Worship fully, Give more, Spend less, Love all.
On the radio this morning was a song with this line...."Yahweh, Yahweh, we love to shout Your name, O Lord!" When we shout out His name, when we worship Him...what a feeling! What a joy! What a blessing to us, to Him. The words of Isaiah 6 are on my mind this morning, too...."I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted." How could you not fall at his feet and worship Him at that throne?
Matthew 5:8 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." The heart, the center of one's being...which according to the notes in my study Bible is "the wellspring of life" - from which springs emotions, thoughts, motivations, courage and action.
How pure is my heart? How worshipful are my thoughts, emotions, actions? Are my motivations clearly based on what God would approve? Psalm 4:7 says "You have filled my heart with greater joy." Do I live my life to reflect that God-given joy? Can others see it shining from me?
Worship fully....celebrating the King with every breath....every thought....my whole heart...
On the radio this morning was a song with this line...."Yahweh, Yahweh, we love to shout Your name, O Lord!" When we shout out His name, when we worship Him...what a feeling! What a joy! What a blessing to us, to Him. The words of Isaiah 6 are on my mind this morning, too...."I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted." How could you not fall at his feet and worship Him at that throne?
Matthew 5:8 says "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." The heart, the center of one's being...which according to the notes in my study Bible is "the wellspring of life" - from which springs emotions, thoughts, motivations, courage and action.
How pure is my heart? How worshipful are my thoughts, emotions, actions? Are my motivations clearly based on what God would approve? Psalm 4:7 says "You have filled my heart with greater joy." Do I live my life to reflect that God-given joy? Can others see it shining from me?
Worship fully....celebrating the King with every breath....every thought....my whole heart...
Thursday, November 17, 2011
All I Need
I think I have mentioned this before...ever noticed how things seem to run on a theme sometimes? Comments, posts in different places, relevant Bible verses, things people say at certain times, events that happen? Well, lately God seems to be reminding me that there is really only one thing I NEED. Just one.
And that One can fill all the empty, lonely, hurting places with peace and joy and love. One.
My son attended his Journey with Christ weekend a few days ago. Family was invited to attend the closing service of the weekend. The 11 teenage boys were given an opportunity to share what the weekend meant to them - what one thing they learned about God and what they would take away from the weekend. One young man stood up to speak. He said that the biggest thing he had learned was that "All I need is Jesus. That's really it."
That's really it. Jesus. Jesus who loved, loves, will always love so much that he gave His life. And not just gave it, but was tortured, shamed, beaten, separated from His Father by our sin, and hung to die....for me. For you.
Is there a space in you that cries out for something? Is there a loneliness in you that needs a hand to hold? Is there a fear in you that needs a protector? Is there sadness in you that needs joy...overwhelming, overflowing joy??
Other people cannot do this for you. "Stuff" cannot do this for you. The next, bigger, better, more expensive.....cannot do it for you. That drink, that food, that drug....no, no, no. Things of this world cannot do it for you. For me.
Just Jesus. He can take away the hurt, the sadness, the emptiness. And as we cry out to him He promises "And surely I will be with you always..." Matthew 28:20
Jesus is all I need. How about you?
And that One can fill all the empty, lonely, hurting places with peace and joy and love. One.
My son attended his Journey with Christ weekend a few days ago. Family was invited to attend the closing service of the weekend. The 11 teenage boys were given an opportunity to share what the weekend meant to them - what one thing they learned about God and what they would take away from the weekend. One young man stood up to speak. He said that the biggest thing he had learned was that "All I need is Jesus. That's really it."
That's really it. Jesus. Jesus who loved, loves, will always love so much that he gave His life. And not just gave it, but was tortured, shamed, beaten, separated from His Father by our sin, and hung to die....for me. For you.
Is there a space in you that cries out for something? Is there a loneliness in you that needs a hand to hold? Is there a fear in you that needs a protector? Is there sadness in you that needs joy...overwhelming, overflowing joy??
Other people cannot do this for you. "Stuff" cannot do this for you. The next, bigger, better, more expensive.....cannot do it for you. That drink, that food, that drug....no, no, no. Things of this world cannot do it for you. For me.
Just Jesus. He can take away the hurt, the sadness, the emptiness. And as we cry out to him He promises "And surely I will be with you always..." Matthew 28:20
Jesus is all I need. How about you?
Sunday, November 13, 2011
You are welcome here...
I received a letter a few days ago from my heart-son, Godless, in Tanzania. He is a child I sponsor through Compassion. He is just recently turned 10 years old, and so very, very thin. My hope is to have a picture of him someday with a smile on his face. Both that I have of him? He's so serious, sad. I want to see him smile.
At the end of his last letter, his translator says "He says he loves you so much and says you are welcome so much to Tanzania." When I read that, my heart flew across the world...to his little village, to be with him. If only I could, little one. If only I could come there, and see you face to face, and hold you close, and let you know how much I love you...a child I only know through letters and drawings and a couple of pictures. A child who holds a part of my heart, there, in Tanzania.
And there is little Grelty, in Indonesia. Who asks in her letter, "May I call you Mother Kelly?" Of course, child. Your very own mother loves you so much, but you are a child of my heart, and while I know I can never top the love of your own mother....I do love you so much. She is a precious beautiful little girl who has grown so much since the first picture I had of her. The second picture from earlier this year when she turned 8 - oh she is beautiful. Her cheeks have filled out some and she looks healthier. I love to see that! I would love to hold her hand and sing songs with her, and hear her laughter.
And Vishal...my little correspondence boy in India. His translator tells me his is weak in the last letter. And my heart breaks and cries for him. I pray that he gains strength and health. That he has enough to eat. That the food they bought for his family with the last gift from his financial sponsor will bring him the nutrition he so badly needs. I love him, too, you see. This little boy who is growing up in hunger and poverty. I want to hold him, too, and tell him that he will be ok. That God loves him so much, as do I.
I pray for these three....just as I pray for my own three precious children. I pray they will ALL grow strong, healthy, wise. I pray that God will enlighten their paths, and keep them close to His heart for all their days. I pray that they will find joy, peace, love. I pray that I will be able to let them know always that I love them so very, very much.
************
Please look at my side bar and click on the post from "A Holy Experience" and read her post called "When Compassion becomes a gold rush...." Trust me, you will be blessed.
At the end of his last letter, his translator says "He says he loves you so much and says you are welcome so much to Tanzania." When I read that, my heart flew across the world...to his little village, to be with him. If only I could, little one. If only I could come there, and see you face to face, and hold you close, and let you know how much I love you...a child I only know through letters and drawings and a couple of pictures. A child who holds a part of my heart, there, in Tanzania.
And there is little Grelty, in Indonesia. Who asks in her letter, "May I call you Mother Kelly?" Of course, child. Your very own mother loves you so much, but you are a child of my heart, and while I know I can never top the love of your own mother....I do love you so much. She is a precious beautiful little girl who has grown so much since the first picture I had of her. The second picture from earlier this year when she turned 8 - oh she is beautiful. Her cheeks have filled out some and she looks healthier. I love to see that! I would love to hold her hand and sing songs with her, and hear her laughter.
And Vishal...my little correspondence boy in India. His translator tells me his is weak in the last letter. And my heart breaks and cries for him. I pray that he gains strength and health. That he has enough to eat. That the food they bought for his family with the last gift from his financial sponsor will bring him the nutrition he so badly needs. I love him, too, you see. This little boy who is growing up in hunger and poverty. I want to hold him, too, and tell him that he will be ok. That God loves him so much, as do I.
I pray for these three....just as I pray for my own three precious children. I pray they will ALL grow strong, healthy, wise. I pray that God will enlighten their paths, and keep them close to His heart for all their days. I pray that they will find joy, peace, love. I pray that I will be able to let them know always that I love them so very, very much.
************
Please look at my side bar and click on the post from "A Holy Experience" and read her post called "When Compassion becomes a gold rush...." Trust me, you will be blessed.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Gratitude for Grace
As I sit here at my desk this morning, with my coffee next to me and a blank screen before me...I think about the shoeboxes we packed at our church last night for Operation Christmas Child. 113 boxes of love and grace, gifts for children who have so little. I think of the videos I have seen of children receiving those boxes - the joy, the smiles on their faces, the excitement of receiving something that was packed hundreds of miles away...just for them. And I am humbled.
I have so much. And I am not always content with what I have. I have two pair of shoes right now that are falling apart and in need of replacement...and yet across the world...even here in my own community...are people who have no shoes. Not even falling apart shoes...and I have two. Not counting the several other pairs upstairs under my dresser.
I have a home to live in. I grumble because I do not own my own home. I fuss because I want one to call my OWN. Yet, I have a roof over my head, walls to keep the weather away, clean floors to walk on, and a wonderful landlady who loves my family. The children I sponsor through Compassion International....they live in homes made of plywood or tin with dirt floors, bags over their windows, roofs made of materials that may provide shelter from the sun but not much else...
I have food to eat - enough that I have three meals a day, and several snacks throughout. If I miss a meal, it is by choice for the most part. Not because of desperate need. There are mothers in this world who wonder each day how they will feed their beloved children even the smallest of meals once a day. They watch their child slowly starve, while they themselves go without as well.
I am humbled. And grateful for my oh so old, definitely NOT HD tv, my couch that has seen better days, my food pantry that may not be as full as I like it but has plenty of nutrition for my family, my car that needs constant work, my falling apart shoes....my home full of what to many would seem extravagances.
I am grateful for the grace God extends to me every day. For each morning I wake, for each breath I take, for each person who crosses my path, for the gift of living in God's blessing. I am grateful for my Savior who loves me for me, who gave His life for mine - the ultimate loving sacrifice and gift. What more do I need?
And so I pray that I will be an extension of His grace....shining His light...sharing His hope...giving His love...blessed to be a blessing.
I have so much. And I am not always content with what I have. I have two pair of shoes right now that are falling apart and in need of replacement...and yet across the world...even here in my own community...are people who have no shoes. Not even falling apart shoes...and I have two. Not counting the several other pairs upstairs under my dresser.
I have a home to live in. I grumble because I do not own my own home. I fuss because I want one to call my OWN. Yet, I have a roof over my head, walls to keep the weather away, clean floors to walk on, and a wonderful landlady who loves my family. The children I sponsor through Compassion International....they live in homes made of plywood or tin with dirt floors, bags over their windows, roofs made of materials that may provide shelter from the sun but not much else...
I have food to eat - enough that I have three meals a day, and several snacks throughout. If I miss a meal, it is by choice for the most part. Not because of desperate need. There are mothers in this world who wonder each day how they will feed their beloved children even the smallest of meals once a day. They watch their child slowly starve, while they themselves go without as well.
I am humbled. And grateful for my oh so old, definitely NOT HD tv, my couch that has seen better days, my food pantry that may not be as full as I like it but has plenty of nutrition for my family, my car that needs constant work, my falling apart shoes....my home full of what to many would seem extravagances.
I am grateful for the grace God extends to me every day. For each morning I wake, for each breath I take, for each person who crosses my path, for the gift of living in God's blessing. I am grateful for my Savior who loves me for me, who gave His life for mine - the ultimate loving sacrifice and gift. What more do I need?
And so I pray that I will be an extension of His grace....shining His light...sharing His hope...giving His love...blessed to be a blessing.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Chris Tomlin - I Will Rise
God bless you today and always!
Friday, November 4, 2011
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