I will praise you in this storm...

More Wordless Wednesday

People of His Pasture

Wordless Wednesday (sort of)Psalm 95

O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth, the peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it, and His hands formed the dry land.
Come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the wilderness,
When your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, though they had seen My work.
For forty years I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, and they do not know My ways.
Therefore I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest.

Lord let me be reminded today to keep my heart soft
to you and what you are doing in my life. Though
I may be in the wilderness, you are directing my paths.
May I be ready to let go of my worry and anxiety
and desires in order to enter into your rest.

Campfire Conversations

"Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another." -- Eustace Budgell (1711)

One of the highlights of this past weekend was sitting outside around the fire with friends, just chatting about random things. Our conversation did turn to dating (no surprise, as all of those who stayed late were single girls). It had been some time since I'd had one of those types of discussions. For the most part, I am enjoying where God has me right now. I love my friends- they keep me grounded and we rarely have a dull moment. I am serving in my local church-where I am both encouraged and challenged. I adore my family- they love me unconditionally and don't pressure me to live up to culture's standards. So it's healthier for me to not dwell on when/if I will marry or what he may or may not be like. But there is something relaxing, dare I say inherently magical about gathering around a fire. Naturally, we began to speak of our hopes and desires for the future. Things we were not willing to compromise on, and secret ways we hoped our husbands would add to our lives. Coming at the end of weekend full of friends and family, I began to realize some previously unknown expectations I have for my future husband. I'm not sure yet if God used this weekend to bring this to my attention in order to affirm them or modify them. But now they are out in the open and can be dealt with and prayed about. I am also starting to understand how amazing these women are that God has put in my life. It is freeing to know how much they love me and that we are all looking out for each others best interests in this area.

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends. -- Czech. Proverb

"Two are better than one; because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend cam help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

We Remember & Express Thanks

Even when others don't...Wordless Wednesday

Clumsy

I don't think I have ever been more aware of Paul's struggle expressed in Romans 7. I know what is good, I know what I should not do (or think). But what I do not want to do or think, I do. But thanks be to God who loves me and forgives me through Christ despite my loose halo. I am so grateful that He still continues to hold me and work in me to make me holy as I fall on Jesus. I realize more every day that as much as I may try, as much as I may practice, I simply do not have the capability to change myself. But how humbling...how exciting...how empowering to know He can do more than we can imagine to take our clumsy lives and use them for His glory!

Chris Rice - Clumsy
You think I’d have it down by now
Been practicing for thirty years
I should have walked a thousand miles
So what am I still doing here
Reaching out for that same old piece of forbidden fruit
I slip and fall and I knock my halo loose
Somebody tell me what’s a boy supposed to do?

I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re saying You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re making me holy
You’re still making me holy, yeah

I’m gonna get it right this time
I’ll be strong and I’ll make You proud
I’ve prayed that prayer a thousand times
But the rooster crows and my tears roll down (again)
Then You remind me You made me from the dust
And I can never, no never, be good enough
And that You’re not gonna let that come between us

I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re saying You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re making me holy
You’re still making me holy, yeah

From where I stand
Your holiness is up so high I can never reach it
My only hope is to fall on Jesus

I get so clumsy
I get so foolish
I get so stupid
And then I feel so useless
But You’re saying You love me
And You’re still gonna hold me
And that You wanna be near me
‘Cause You’re making me holy
You’re still making me holy, yeah

Transformed- Romans 12:2

The more I come to know God, the more I hate who I have been and the sin that so easily entangles me. May my growing intimacy with Him increase my desire to be further transformed and my ability to know His will.

Relient K - Who I Am Hates Who I've Been

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Masks

1 Samuel 12:1-14 describes Nathan confronting David, the King of Israel, about orchestrating the death of Uriah the Hittite in order to take his wife, Bathsheba. God used to Nathan and his relationship with David as a vessel to bring David to repentance. My reading today looked at this story and asked if we have someone in our lives who can confront us with the truth about our sin. It also suggested a couple reasons we may not have that relationship in our lives- no one suspects our sins (we are talented hypocrites) or no one knows enough (or cares enough) about us or our lives.

Personally, I am saddened to think either I have perfected hypocrisy to the point that no one in my life can see my sins or that I am not willing to let people in enough to either see it or care to confront it. Even when I can not point out my own sins, as we often do not realize our failings ourselves, I know that I fall short all the time. In my words and actions, I can see places where I have mountains of growing left. So honestly it scares me to think that I'm not sure I have a "Nathan" (or Nathana?) who would both see my sin & be willing to bring it to my attention as well.

So my prayer for the week is thus:
Lord search me again. Open my eyes to areas that I may have unconfessed sin, whether directly or through wise counsel. Help me to be able to remove any masks I am holding onto. Make my friendships and my home group open venues for you to work in my life. Lead me to know where to invest my life so that I too may be a vessel for your use.