Worship

Tonight as I sit alone while Greg is at work, YouTube has become my best friend LOL I've been sitting here, playing solitaire on FB and listen to so many of my favorite worship songs to the lover of my soul. I've been in tears many times. I am just so in love with Jesus and for what he did for me!!!! He bears MY scars. He took MY shame. He loves ME! He would have done it all even if I was the only person on earth. How AMAZING is He?!?! My heart is full and overflowing for my Savior tonight. Jesus, THANK YOU. Thank you for loving me in spite of my failures. Thank you for using me because of them. Thank you for saving me from an eternity away from you. Praise you for you are everything good and pure and clean in me! I'm in love, can ya tell?!

obedience

So...I'm doing a study by Henry Blackaby called "Created to be God's Friend-How God shapes those He loves." I've attempted to do his study "Experiencing God" several times and have never made it through it. Usually I get stuck in the crisis of belief section. This study has much less reading associated with it, but is very applicable to my life. It's a study of Abraham's life.

Henry speaks of God's purposes for us being eternal. When I've thought of that phrase in the past, I've always thought of what I do being for the eternal kingdom, which they are. But what he brought out is that God's purposes for me have been IN PLACE for eternity, that they were in place before He even created the world. What a message! It changes how I live DAILY. God chooses people to do His purpose that are fully obedient and faithful. That is shown throughout the whole Bible. He chooses those who love Him with "all their heart, and all their soul, all their strength" (Deut 6:5, Matt. 22:37) If you don't have that love for God, you end up arguing with Him, rejecting Him, disobeying Him, and ultimately straying from Him.

This truth spoke volumes to me today!! I've been guilty of all of those things! It showed me that my heart has not been in the right place and God ALWAYS looks at the heart. Not our service, but the motivation behind it. Not our words, but our thoughts. I prayed today for a renewed heart. "Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Ps. 51:10) That was David's cry after he faced his sin with Bathsheba. Even David, who was a man after God's own heart, failed in this area. The lesson being, he repented and truly desired to have a new heart. That is my cry as well!!!!

After reading the study, I felt led to go to Proverbs. Not knowing where to go, I went to Proverbs 11 (because it's the 11th day of the month). It's contrasting the righteous and the wicked. Then I looked and there are 9 CHAPTERS of this!!! The one that spoke out to me the most? "The blameless in their walk are His delight." Prov 11:20b Nuff said :) If it is soooo important to God to walk blameless in His sight, shouldn't it be ours as well?

Amazing

Today was a phenomenal day at God's house! God truly inhabited our worship of Him today. Frank had asked me to sing In Christ Alone as part of the choir special. It was a no brainer for me to say yes, but I was nervous. God has been dealing with my pride so much lately and I did NOT want to sing if it would glorify me. I think for a long time that I had taken pride in my voice and it had become too easy for me to get up and sing at church and not truly sing to Him. After a year or more of not being part of a worship team, God stripped me of that position to teach me that it's not about me...at all. I have an audience of one...Him. I continuously prayed for 2 weeks that He sing through me today.

Just before I was to sing, I began to feel the heart racing and the clammy hands begin. I prayed that God would wash over me and overtake me. I felt a tingle start at my head and radiate down my arms and then....peace. He sang through me. After singing (with my eyes closed, as I always do), I looked out and saw the congregation. Tears came to my eyes as I saw the once seated crowd on their feet praising God. Not me...God. That made my heart sing and I was truly able to give God ALL the glory.

Helloooo Bloggers :)

I have finally decided to blog my thoughts. I didn't think I ever had anything blog-worthy but lately, God has been really moving in my life and the lives of those around me!!! Praise the Lord! So.....being the exhorter I am, I have to share what God lays on my heart...good, bad and ugly. I'm gonna try my hardest to blog every day, but with three little boys in tow...we'll see LOL

We have just completed a study on the life of Paul in our amazing little Bible study at church. I must say, I am really missing Paul. Boy, did I learn a multitude of things over the past three months! I have grown to know Jesus and the privilege of His calling more in this time than any in my life. I have been convicted of just how lukewarm I had become as a Christian. I have seen what "sold out" for Jesus looks like. I WANT to know Him as much as is possible here on earth as I can.

I have had some AMAZING times in prayer lately and have been called to some intense intercessory prayer for others. And best of all...God is working through the prayers of His people. I've seen my dear sister in law come to Christ and my brother come back to the faith of his youth. I see God calling to his dear ones that have for so long been gone from him. I am trusting in His promise to heal a dear little sister from the confines of her wheelchair. I see Him moving in our church. God is so good all the time and I am looking forward to telling you what He shows me.

I hope you are encouraged on this journey with me. That is the reason I am doing this. I encourage your thoughts and comments and look forward to growing with you :)