Blessings

Umm... heard this song by Laura Story for the first time this morning as I was driving to work through the {wanna be} rain. With so many friends around me going through some tough stuff, it just really made my heart smile. PS- I made my favorite parts blue :)




We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Oh Glorious Day!

I meant to post this yesterday, but I got busy celebrating EASTER and the resurrected JESUS! But the Gospel is just as much a celebration today! It's the most beautiful, important story of all time!

This video is a little longer than most, but it is so unbelievably powerful. We must not forget why we are here and what God has commissioned us for! Take ten to watch... I promise, it is worth it!


Lord, I pray that I would become less and that You would become more. Help me not to get in the way. Jesus, live through me!

And now for a little Casting Crowns...

Death could not hold Him! The grave could not keep Him from rising again! Oh Glorious Day!!
I hope your Easter was glorious!

The Beauty of the Cross

It was planned ahead of time. Jesus was there - before the creation of the world. God planned it perfectly. Jesus went willingly. He's known all along how it would end. He did it for us. He suffered for us. He loves us.

Isaiah 53 

Who has believed our message
   and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
   and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
   a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
   he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
   and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
   stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
   and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all. 

He was oppressed and afflicted,
   yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
   and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
   so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
   Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
   for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
   and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
   nor was any deceit in his mouth. 

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
   and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
   and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
   he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
   and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
   and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
   and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
   and made intercession for the transgressors.

Beautiful

The days will come when you don't have the strength 
When all you hear is you're not worth anything 
Wondering if you ever could be loved 
And if they truly saw your heart they'd see too much 


You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
You are made so much more than all of this 
You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His 
You're beautiful 


I'm praying that you have the heart to find 
Cause you are more than what is hurting you tonight 
For all the lies you've held inside so long 
And they are nothing in the shadow of the cross 


You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
You are made so much more than all of this 
You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His 
You're beautiful 


Before you ever took a breath 
Long before the world began 
Of all the wonders He possessed 
There was one more precious 
Of all the earth and skys above 
You're the one He madly loves 
Enough to die 


You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
In His eyes 


You're beautiful 
You were meant for so much more than all of this 
You're beautiful 
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His 
You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
You're meant for so much more than all of this 
You're beautiful, You're beautiful 
You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His

Temporary Home

Some Scripture pertaining to Lent...

Joel 2:12-17

"Yet even now," declares the LORD,
   "return to me with all your heart,
 with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
   and rend your hearts and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
   for he is gracious and merciful,
 slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
   and he relents over disaster.
 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
   and leave a blessing behind him,
 a grain offering and a drink offering
   for the LORD your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion;
   consecrate a fast;
 call a solemn assembly;
   gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
   assemble the elders;
 gather the children,
   even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
   and the bride her chamber.

Between the vestibule and the altar
   let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep
 and say, "Spare your people, O LORD,
   and make not your heritage a reproach,
   a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
   'Where is their God?'
                        
Matthew 6:16-21

"And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Remember... we are sojourners in this land. It is our temporary home.

1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Shedding

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Years ago, I dreaded Lent. All I got from it when I was younger was that I had to give up something I loved and fast from eating meat on Fridays. And for a girl who hated fish, it was not much fun.

As I got older and my relationship with the Lord grew, I came to understand the sacrifice a little more.
{click here to learn more about what wiki says about Lent}

But now, after not having really celebrated the season of Lent in a few years (besides the general reflection on my sin and Jesus's sacrifice during Sunday services), I am choosing to celebrate it this year. I don't even know if celebrate is the right term, though Jesus's resurrection is definitely something to celebrate! I have a different outlook on it this year...

We are strangers here on this earth. This is not our eternal home - it's where God has us for now. But sometimes we get so entwined, even enslaved, to it that we absolutely forget who we are and why we are here. And I think the Lenten season is the perfect time to reflect on that and allow God to strip us back down to the creation He intended us to be. And, layer by layer, as He frees us from this world, we see more and more the depravity of our sin and, by comparison, the greatness of our God.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. -Hebrews 12:1-2

I have some shedding to do. I have grown so astoundingly dependent on the things of this world, and it's time for repentance, renewal, and some good quality time with my Father. I am going to take a break from social networking (namely, facebook) and spend much more time digging through His Word and letting Him dig through my heart.

Faithful

This week's song is a little more serious... a true expression of the heart.




Faithful - Brooke Fraser


There's distance in the air and I cannot make it leave
I wave my arms round about me and blow with all my might
I cannot sense you close, though I know you're always here
But the comfort of you near is what I long for

When I can't feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can't hear you, I know you still hear every word I pray
And I want you more than I want to live another day
And as I wait for you maybe I'm made more faithful

All the folly of the past, though I know it is undone
I still feel the guilty one, still trying to make it right
So I whisper soft your name, let it roll around my tounge,
knowing you're the only one who knows me
You know me

When I can't feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can't hear you, I know you still hear every word I pray
And I want you more than I want to live another day
And as I wait for you maybe I'm made more faithful

Show me how I should live this
Show me where I should walk
I count this world as loss to me
You are all I want
You are all I want

Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not?!

This is my current favorite song... it hasn't failed to make me smile yet :) Enjoy!

Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not - Thompson Square - Thompson Square Videos

Christmas Favorites 2010

A few things to share on this Christmas....

• My favorite Christmas song lyrics this year: You're Here by Francesca Battistelli
  Listen to it here; Download it for free here
• My favorite Christmas verse this year: 

• My favorite Christmas memory from this year: Receiving an escape ladder from my parents as a Christmas gift... and laughing so hard when everyone realized it was only a 2 story ladder (and we live on the 3rd floor)
  
• My favorite Christmas video this year:
  

Hope you and your family had a blessed CHRISTmas!

Here's to Freedom.

What is this monotony? This going-through-the-motions every day without feeling anything? This unfulfilling, unsatisfying life that I have allowed myself to fall into? I know there is more to life than this.

I. feel. stuck.

-stuck in my daily routine. Get up, get dressed, drive to work, sit at work all day waiting for the "freedom" to go home, drive home, eat dinner, watch tv, maybe exercise, go to bed, do it all again. What is the purpose of this?
-stuck in this apartment. Even on the weekends when I am "free" to do whatever I want, I feel trapped in the walls of our apartment. And I have a feeling I wouldn't feel any less trapped in something bigger. It's not the size. It's the stuff. It's the familiarity. It's the isolation from the world.
-stuck at my job. It's not exciting most days. I really love what I do, but most days I'm not happy. It's my attitude. It's the environment telling me the way I need to act and feel and be.
-stuck in my neverending to-do lists. There is always a list - or two or three - going of the things I need to do. Or that I want to do. They are always going in my head. Sometimes I can write them down and cross things off of them, but most of the time they just get longer and longer, hanging over my head and trapping me in stress.
-stuck in my own expectations. The need to be great. To do great. To be my best. I have this idea of how my life should be and the goals and dreams that I have for myself. And they just mock me everytime I don't live up to them or take a step toward them.
-stuck in others expectations. Of how I should look. Of how I should dress. Of how much I should exercise. Of how I should spend my time. Of how I should spend my money. Of how much money I should make. Of what my home should look like. Of what kind of car I should drive. Of what I should like. Of what I should sound like. AHHHH!

I am a slave to this world. 

I am a slave to others. To my unnecessary expectations. To my "should be"s. I am trapped, caught, suffocating, imprisoned, stuck. SLAVE.

As Beth Moore puts it, "We become immediate slaves to the person(s) from whom we seek approval."

BUT, Christ came to set me free from slavery. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." -Galatians 5:1

I cannot continue to try to balance the Spirit and the flesh. They cannot work together. "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." -Galatians 5:17-18 God has freed me from the law. From the world. From the expectations of myself and of others.

He has SET ME FREE. 

To experience this sweet freedom that God is trying to show me, I must keep in step with the Spirit. I must not be conformed to the pattern of this world. I must yield to the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to guide me through my routine, my job, my life. Every day I must make that choice. It does not come naturally. But it is so much better!

Here's to freedom.

Listen to this song: Better Way to Live - by Jason Gray

• Better Way To Live by Jason Gray

More Jason Gray music on iLike

Lucky Girl :)

I just have to brag for a second... I have THE BEST husband in the world. He is simply awesome. There have been SO many nights recently where I have come home from work, worn out and needing to study, and he's had dinner ready for me, chocolates in the cupboard, and the kitchen clean. What an amazing guy. I'm so glad I get to "grow old" with him. There's no one I'd rather have by my side everyday for the rest of my life than my best friend. Love you, Brad!

And on a related note, here's another song I'm currently loving:



Let's Grow Old Together
Lanae Hale

Right turn fall down
You’re there to pick me off the ground
And I can’t tell ya how you’ve turned my world around
You come closer your blue eyes
Have won me over and
I’ll never be the same without ya
Here with me through the sun and the rain
I thought you should know that you’re my hero

Let’s grow old together
With my heart in your hands and your hands holding mine
We’ll face the world together
Cause you are the one I’ve been waiting to find
It’s no secret, so I can’t keep it
Cause it’s true…
Baby, I love you

Long day Come home
When you’re there I never feel alone
And my cares melt away into your arms again
Your smile takes me
Just awhile to remind myself to breathe
Cause your still the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen
I thought you should know that you’ll always be my hero

Years turn us gray but my heart still jumps when you’re next to me
I feel so safe cause you’re still by my side on those cloudy days and
I’m so amazed by…you 


Better than a Hallelujah

This is my new favorite song. And it comes at a time when I really need to hear it. The phrases that really touch my heart are "God just hears a melody" and especially "Beautiful, the mess we are". How amazing is our God, that He would meet us where we are!

God loves a lullaby
In a mother's tears, in the dead of night
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.
God loves the drunkard's cry,
The soldier's plea not to let him die
Better than a Hallelujah sometimes.


We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful, the mess we are
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah.


The woman holding on for life,
The dying man giving up the fight 
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes
The tears of shame for what's been done,
The silence when the words won't come
Are better than a Hallelujah sometimes.


We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are 
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

Better than a church bell ringing,
Better than a choir singing out, singing out.


We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are 
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah

We pour out our miseries
God just hears a melody
Beautiful the mess we are 
The honest cries of breaking hearts
Are better than a Hallelujah


Better than a Hallelujah sometimes


-Amy Grant

Love Never Fails

I have been meaning to post these lyrics since I first heard them on the radio. What a beautiful song! I wish I had heard it before I got married - it would be perfect for a wedding! The lyrics are below... take a couple of minutes to listen to it :)

Love is not proud
Love does not boast
Love after all
Matters the most

Love does not run
Love does not hide
Love does not keep
Locked inside

Love is the river that flows through
Love never fails you

Love will sustain
Love will provide
Love will not cease
At the end of time

Love will protect
Love always hopes
Love still believes
When you don't

Love is the arms that are holding you
Love never fails you

When my heart won't make a sound
When I can't turn back around
When the sky is falling down
Nothing is greater than this
Greater than this

Love is right here
Love is alive
Love is the way
The truth the life

Love is the river than flows through
Love is the arms that are holding you
Love is the place you will fly to
Love never fails you

-Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath

Facebook Conviction

Church today was especially moving. We just started a new sermon series on Titus. We call it "BOOM! Ripple, Ripple. - The gospel and godliness in TITUS". Kyle preached on one verse. Titus 1:1. And wow. He preached it! I got a ton out of the message. (I'll make a point to post a link to the audio of the sermon once it's posted) I know that God will be moving in my life as we go through this series. Kyle made some points that I'm sure will be applied to my life, but what God really stirred in me today was only a by-product of the message. It didn't directly relate. It was related, of course. Because something that was said or addressed caused me to go where I went with God. But it's so cool the way that God can use any words, any lyrics, any melody to get to me.

This morning I was convicted. I was convicted of many things. I was convicted that I am not living my life as a servant - a slave - to Christ. I am not relinquishing control in all areas of my life and therefore not letting God get the glory in all things I do. I am not living as if I'm on mission with God. I'm not allowing Him to do the things He is wanting to do through me. But the real, practical conviction that God brought to me today was about Facebook. I actually don't spend that much time on it, which is why this conviction is unique. I think that God knows I need something concrete - a tangible command - to follow. And this is it. I need to fast from Facebook. I need to spend the time that I would be checking up on people, most of whom are not even a real part of my life, instead learning how to serve my God. If I can spend 20 minutes on Facebook in the morning and turn around and say I don't have time to spend time with God before work then something needs to change. How much better would it be if I spent those 20 minutes getting to know the God of the universe? I need to re-FOCUS on Him. I need to focus on my real relationships instead of my cyber ones. I need to communicate with people in more authentic ways - through phone calls, emails, face-to-face conversations instead of merely "liking" their statuses and commenting on their posts. So that's exactly what I'm going to do - through my Facebook fast.

And please don't misunderstand me. Facebook isn't bad. It can be a wonderful, wonderful tool. But for me, at this time in my life, God has called me to focus on other things. And He's given me this specific task to follow in order to test my obedience and teach me about Himself. Could He have used something else in my life to do this? Sure. But this is what He chose, and I'm choosing to obey.

You're Not Shaken

I heard this song on the radio while I was driving to work and it was just such a good reminder that even when it seems like the world and everything around me is crumbling down, God is not shaken one bit. He stands firm and wants us to lean on Him for stability. I love that. What an encouragement it is to have such a strong and steadfast God!


You're Not Shaken
by Phil Stacey

I am sinking in a river that is raging
I am drowning, will I ever rise to breathe again?
I want to know why; I just want to understand
Will I ever know why? How could this be from Your hand?

When every little thing that I have dreamed would be
Just slips away like water through my hand
And when it seems the walls of my belief are crashing down
Like they're all made of sand
I won't let go of You now, because I know You're not shaken

I'm trembling in the darkness of my own fear
All the questions with no answers still grip me while I'm here
And I may never know why; I may not understand
But I will lift up my eyes And trust this is Your plan

When I am in the valley of the shadow of death
You're not shaken, You're not shaken
You're right here beside me and You have never left
You're not shaken, You're not shaken

Do Re Me

I realize that the number of words in my posts has dwindled exponentially over the past few months. This could be evidence of the INSANITY that is my life... or perhaps a result of my literary self-confidence... but I have to defend myself by pointing out that I have not completely neglected this site. I like to think of these last few months as practice at creatively expressing myself through media. No, I did not use my own words, but you could say that it took MORE effort to adequately (or inadequately, as the case most likely is) express my thoughts and feelings through the work, music, art, or words of others. I cannot promise that I have made a comeback... I just simply wanted to acknowledge that I am aware of the toll my blog has taken due to the busy-ness of life. I plan on continuing to update it, whether that be through my own words or (more likely) You-Tube videos.

On that note, here is one that completely made my day. It actually made me think of one of my wonderful friends, Jenn (love you, Jenn!). I would not put it past her to participate in something like this! It's proof that people really do break into song and dance in the middle of everyday life! Yay spontaneity... we are on our way! Enjoy!

Two Hands

You love, You love... a people undeserving

Here are three wonderful songs I wanted to share... have a blessed Easter!


Jesus Messiah - Chris Tomlin


To Know Your Name - Hillsong United


Not Guilty Anymore - Aaron Keyes

The Climb

When I first heard this song come on the radio, I fell in love with it. I don't know if it's because I relate so much to the lyrics (even though there are plenty of other songs out there that say the same kind of thing) or if it was just the tune... perhaps the combination? I don't usually have control of the way music affects me. A song could completely move me one day and then have no effect the next. This one has touched me everytime I've heard it over the past week or two. Perhaps I'm just seeking as much encouragement as possible these days.

The Climb - Miley Cyrus

PS- I didn't know it was by Miley Cyrus until after I fell in love with it. :)

My Best Friend

I'm so incredibly lucky [BLESSED!] to be married to my best friend! There's no bigger blessing in life than to find someone you love, who loves you back, and who wants to "do" life with you! Brad has been my best friend for over 5 years and I'm so lucky to have him by my side, living life with me forever! We both really love this song -- and we both kinda wish it had come out earlier so that we could have danced to it at our wedding!

Lucky - Jason Mraz