I love Wednesdays! Wednesday seems to be one of the longest days of my week, but I never tire of them. Yes, I spend all day at work looking at spreadsheets and numbers and most Wednesdays I don't even get home until 9 which leaves little time to do anything. But let me say it again...I love Wednesdays. See...every Wednesday after work I head straight to church for worship choir practice and no matter how stressful my day has been or how tired I am or if I'm in a bad mood, God uses that time to bless me and not just bless me a little but give me bountiful blessings! As soon as I get in that room with my church family everything else seems to fade into the distance and I'm encouraged, pushed to grow spiritually, challenged!!! Tonight was no different.

Every Wednesday one of the choir/orchestra members gives a short bible study. I was so encouraged by tonight's lesson that I would like to share! I can't take these words and interpretation for my own as they are Jan Kimball's. She read a passage from Psalm 13:

"(1) How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (2) How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? (3) Look on me and answer, Lord my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, (4) and my enemy will say 'I have overcome him,' (5) But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. (6) I will sing the Lord's praise for he has been good [dealt bountifully] to me."

When reading through the first few books of Psalm I always kind of thought I can related to David. "God why aren't you hearing me? Why do I have sorrow in my life? Why do I experience the things I experience?" Mainly a big woe is me pity party, especially if you consider David's anguish was from the fact that he was on the run and in fear for his life. However, I think most of us can relate to the inner groaning we all feel to understand our life and why things happen the way they do.

My favorite part of Jan's mini bible study this evening was how she pointed out the change in attitude from verses 1-4 compared to verses 5-6. How could David have a change of heart so quickly? He just poured out his heart and candidly asked God how long do I have to endure this? Are you there? Have you forgotten me? Then he changes to rejoicing!! Why? It all stems back to one word: SALVATION!!! David had so much hope that God would rescue him because God had already "dealt bountifully" with him through the gift of Salvation!! Can I get an AMEN!!

Same goes for me. The worldly desires and concerns of my heart pale in comparison to how bountifully God has already blessed me (and I'm not just talking worldly blessings.) I am sinful and dirty and have baggage in my life, yet because God loves me so He wants to give me the greatest blessing of all: Salvation! As I drove home tonight a Mercy Me song came on the radio: 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 

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 

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 were meant for so much more than all of this 

You're beautiful 

You are treasured, You are sacred, You are His 

Wow! No matter HOW dirty my past is, HOW much baggage I claim, God sees me as beautiful and not only that but treasured, sacred, HIS!!! But only redeemed by His blood. What a great reminder!

Beautiful...

I'm in love with this song! I've had this song on my ipod for awhile now, but have been listening to it a lot more recently!!! What a wonderful picture of God's love for us! If you haven't listened to this song! DO!!! Even better...download it and listen to it over and over and over!!


Beautiful
Phil Wickham


I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say 
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I see you there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now you are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful, you're beautiful

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring 
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful

I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful
I see Your face, I see Your face
I see Your face, You're beautiful, You're beautiful, You're beautiful


You're Beautiful - Phil Wickham from Steve V on Vimeo.

Plans...

I was reading my sister's blog tonight...a little down and I came across a verse she quoted:

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."

 Proverbs 16:9 

How many times have I gone through life planning the courses I was going to take? Where I would go to college, what I would study, when and who I would marry...and when life doesn't go to plan I simply have a pity party for myself. I look past all of the wonderful things in my life! My friends, family, good health, job, etc. I forget His promise to me:

"'For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

So why is that when life gets hard or complicated I forget that promise? Why do I pity myself? How can I get passed my own worldly wants and get back to the heart of it and have that intimate relationship with Jesus? I don't have the answers to these questions...I mean I'm literally typing my thoughts out right now, but I can say one thing...

THANK GOD THAT HE DETERMINES THOSE STEPS!!! I think I would do a pretty horrible job if it was just up to me.

Yay!!! Jesus Loves me!

I was on facebook and reading through the daily posts from all my friends and I came across one that just made my heart smile!!! My little 3 year old niece Marlee sang these lyrics:

"little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. YAY Jesus Loves me. YAY Jesus Loves me..." How awesome is that?! Not just a simple yes, but a whole hearted, rojoicing YES!!! I am so grateful for His love.

But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39


This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:9-11


How precious is Your steadfast love, O God! The children of men take refuge and put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. Psalm 36: 7


But God--so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us. Ephesians 2: 4

Fears...

Everybody has fears...some are hard to admit. One of mine is sharing my faith...

Last sunday was our dedication of our new building for First Baptist Rogers. We were blessed to have Dr. Bruce Wilkinson speak last sunday and he presented us with a challenge. Our church is in the middle of a kairos  moment, and has the opportunity to change the future of the church and commit to growth. The challenge is to double the number of attendance by November 2011. Of course, this means that we must get involved, must go out! This is confronting one of my biggest fears. Sharing my faith...I don't know what it is that is scary...I believe and want others to know of this great love that God has for us and how he has impacted my life. So why is it so hard for me to vocalize what God has done for me?

I've come to the conclusion that my issue is exactly what I just wrote, it's hard for "me" to vocalize. What it comes down to is that I'm not trusting God to speak through me. I'm limiting His use of me. I'm letting Satin tell me that I'm not good enough, educated enough,  special enough...fill in the blank...

Here is my commitment:
"The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery, my invincible army. He will make my feet like hinds' feet. To walk, not stand still in terror, but to WALK! and make spiritual progress upon my high places of trouble, suffering or responsibility." Habakkuk 3:19 (adapted)

I heard this verse stated this way a few years back at a Beth Moore Conference, but it has more meaning today then it did then. I need to stop making excuses and rely on God to keep me walking.