i will praise You...

I was sure by now
God You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to you
And you raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away


I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth

" The LORD’S loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness" Lamentations 3:22-23

If I didn't believe this promise, there wouldn't be a whole lot to look forward to every day I woke up. Not because my life isn't blessed, because it is. But, because of the loving kindness of the Lord and His wonderful mercy, I can stand in freedom every day. I don't have to wake up in dread, but I can wake up in faith, believing that the One True God is in control over this new day and His mercy is indeed new and He is ever faithful to bring me through whatever I will face...

"...I am the Way..." John 14:6

Many people are hurting so badly, and they are crying out for help. The problem is, they are not willing to receive the help they need from God. The truth is, no matter how much we may want or need help, we are never going to receive it until we are willing to do things God's way. Its amazing how many times we want help, but we want God to do it our way. God wants us to do it His way. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the Way." What Jesus meant when He said, "I am the Way," is that He has a certain way of doing things, and if we will submit to His way, everything will work out for us. But so often we wrestle and struggle with Him, trying to get Him to do things our way. It just won't work.

The point is that too often people are trying to find some other way to get help rather than by doing things God's way. The Bible plainly teaches that if we will learn and act on the Word, God will bless our lives. For example, the Bible teaches that we are to live in harmony and peace with others and to forgive those who have done us wrong. If we refuse to do that, what hope do we have of receiving what we need? If we don't do what we can do, then God won't do what we can't do. If we will do what we can do, God will do what we can't do.

"For whatever was written was given to us for our learning, that through patience and comfort of the scriptures we might have hope." (Romans 15:4)

I need Jesus every, single day. Without Him, I fail...

Jesus said "Blessed are the meek, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5:3 the meaning for meek is 'spiritually humble'. A promise of the Lord is that He gives grace to the humble...(1 Peter 5:5)

This has been so heavy on my heart in the last few years and recently I know without a shadow of a doubt the will of God for my life...to reach out to people who are broken hearted and desperately need the touch of the Lord...I am one of those people. So are you. We all need a touch from Jesus. The thing is, we have to let Him.

Peace

the push of a wonderful man

By nature I like to think of myself as an observant person. iI like to people watch, study the complex infrastructure known as "relationship", and attempt to understand the human heart...I was a little overwhelmed when I had to examine my own...

In the last year, I have been wrestling with myself. And along with that wrestling, there has been a person who has changed my life...I thought I understood men, (yes, go ahead and laugh) how they think, act, or why they think a certain way or act a certain way. It has been both frustrating and completely mind blowing at the same time to realize I didn't...not a clue! And there is a reason I didn't(I'll write about that later). But, God has used the difference of this man in my life to change it, never to be the same again. I have been both humbled and enamored, molded and redone. There have been times during this process that I have cried and been mad but mostly...challenged. Challenged to be different, be better, to look through different lenses, the lenses of Christ (the Word). For the first time I have been pushed to jump off my comfortable cliff and into the arms of a Savior who is the WHOLE meaning of life...And this person pushed me.

You see, I met this person, and through him, God has used to change my life. These last 12 months I have been pushed, stretched, humbled, and encouraged. Because even though before, I knew redemption though Jesus was THE only way and that in order to follow Him you have to also pick up your cross as He did, I still didn't have the experience of trial and difficulty in front (or behind) me. What I knew of the Lord and believe was definitely put to the test this past year. I encountered attack from the evil one, difficulty, financial struggle, emotional struggle, and stress. But, one thing I never lacked was an unwavering belief that I was not alone and that I was unconditionally loved. That the fire I was called to walk through, the 'valley of the shadow of death' that i crawled my way though, I was called for a purpose...I was called because the King had dealings with me...

This last year He has stripped me of pride,'comfortability' seeking desires, and insecurity in myself and He replaced it with true wholeness in Him, peace, and FULL dependence and reliance upon who He is...we really, truly are nothing without Him. Because He is everything... So, whether He calls me to live where I currently am now or to live on a clay floor or maybe even in a tent or for that matter in my car...without delay, I have to go because through the fire, through the teaching and molding (which isn't over I may add) He has carried me and taught me that its not about me. How can we (His people) give less to Him then our heart and life when He blesses us with so much.

So, with that, I add that God puts people in our lives for a reason. And though not always easy, there is purpose in His plan...and I don't believe for one minute that all I have walked through this last year was not planned...God blessed me with a steady, only deepening, enriching love that I am SO thankful for...he (you know who you are) has been the stable grip that has kept me holding my head up in the joy of the Lord. And let me say that I (we) have found the beauty and necessity of walking together in Christ...and that the Love of God will calm any storm you face as long as your heart is firm in love. Thanks for the push.

love never fails...

I Corinthians 13:5 It(love) is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

Love keeps no record of wrongs for love is too busy healing and mending. Wrongs are not important to love because love is always consumed with making things right as time moves forward. In love, there is no time for keeping records of past mistakes. Love has no memory of wrongs for love is making plans and building for the future. Love is too creative to be concerned with what happened yesterday. Love focuses on the expression of progress in the name and image of God. A record of wrongs stops love so love is not concerned about the past. Love is always full of hope, grandeur, and glory as it forever moves into the future while overfilling the present...

when i read this little bit of scripture, i was overwhelmed with the thought that, love (remember, God is Love) doesn't dwell on what was, love is fixated on what will be. Love never fails...and if we don't have love, if we are unable or unwilling to forgive and let go and be unselfish then we cannot say we're with God. Because if you do not have love, you have nothing.

The devil is so good at keeping us from letting the past go. His favorite trick to play on us is bitterness and un-forgiveness...to keep you tied down to what was and keep you in the pit of what you think you'll never get to or what you can let go of. But! We serve a God of new beginnings. a God of new creation in Him and a God of redemption. God wants us to press forward. Remember that when we are forgiven our sin's are as far as the east is from the west?? (psalm 103:12)

letting go.

There have been recent moments of pause in my day, moments of wondering, asking, seeking knowledge. The love given to me from my Creator surpasses all other love needed. In order for one to find love, one must go to the Source of love.

The last six months have been me gasping for breath and God keeping me from drowning in myself. Its so easy to be selfish, to forget your purpose and your redemption. I don't want a life of missed love. I want perfect love, whole heart overflowing love. how do i get this...?

God saved me. And just because people choose not to believe in Him doesn't change the reality of who He is. God is. "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that men are without excuse." Romans 1:20

Being a Christian doesn't mean you shove God down peoples throats or condemn them for their unbelief, it means shining the Light given to you, it means loving as God has loved you, knowing the Word and feeding it to people by how you live your life.

i need Jesus every. single. day. without Him, i fail.

Picasso once said, "good taste is the enemy of great art", which i think is very true. Good taste has all to do about being cultured and being refined. If art has to do with anything, it has to do with being human. Sometimes i find it hard to pray, you try to pray and try to impress God with all the right words, but I'm just not that sure if God is all that concerned with being entertained. I think that's a human thing. I just don't think its an easy thing to impress God Almighty. And I think we often forget that, you don't have to impress Him, because He's already knocked out about you. and if He was cultured, if He was as civilized as most christian people wish He was, He would be useless to Christianity... God is a wild Man. God takes the junk of our lives and He makes the greatest art in the world out of it...

"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." (romans 11:36)

"do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you..." acts 18: 9-10

when the world is on fire, will you run for shelter or will you run into the flame to save the perishing? what will it take for the world to know Jesus...?

"...those who say that they live for Him must live the same way He lived." 1john 2:6

"those who are ignorant of the things of God do not know that these convictions that tend to put them in fear are for their good, so they seek to stifle them. they think that those fears are worked by the devil, and so they resist them as things they need to overthrow. they also think that these fears tend to spoil their faith and they harden their hearts against them." -john bunyan "the pilgrims progress"

let them fear You while the sun endures, and as long as the moon throughout all generations. may he come down like rain upon the mown grass, like showers that water the earth. in his day may the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace until the moon is no more. may He also rule from sea to sea and from river to the ends of the earth. psalm 73:5-8

the bitter comes before the sweet and makes the sweet even better...

oh how He loves us...

And we are His portion and He is our prize, Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes, If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking. And heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don’t have time to maintain these regrets, When I think about, the way…

He loves us.

song by David Crowder Band