Not an Ordinary Life

Heal the Wound, Leave the Scar

2012-01-03T13:40:00.005-06:00

"Thank you, Father for struggle, I wouldn't be the same person without it. Thank You for the blessing in knowing You will never leave us or forsake and will be with us in our darkest hour. Never let me forget the pain and Your love."

I used to wish that I could rewrite history
I used to dream that each mistake could be erased
Then I could just pretend
I never knew the me back then

I used to pray that You would take this shame away
Hide all the evidence of who I've been
But it's the memory of
The place You brought me from
That keeps me on my knees
And even though I'm free

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

I have not lived a life that boasts of anything
I don't take pride in what I bring
But I'll build an altar with
The rubble that You've found me in

And every stone will sing
Of what You can redeem

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

Don't let me forget
Everything You've done for me
Don't let me forget
The beauty in the suffering

~Point of Grace
Heal the Wound

Do you believe the holocaust happened?

2011-11-21T18:30:00.000-06:00

You are For Me

2011-10-24T17:57:00.003-05:00

"....If God is for us, who can be against us? He Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God Who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, Who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?....

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-35, 37-39

Are you feeling alone? Abandoned? Are you downcast and is your soul disturbed within you? Put your hope in Christ Jesus and praise Him, your Savior and your God. (adapted from Psalm 42:11)

Dancing in Minefields

2011-06-23T15:19:00.006-05:00

On May 28, 2011 I married my Beloved and my Best Friend. On that day we put this song by Andrew Peterson out on a table for display. We like it because it is a reminder for us that living a radical life, a not so ordinary life, for Christ is very hard but that we are thankful that God has given us each other to make this hard journey together. Read the words and think about them.

'Cause He promised not to leave us, And His promises are true, So in the face of this chaos baby, I can dance with you.

Well I was 19, you were 21
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

Well "I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard is a good place to begin
'Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price for the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storms
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I lose loves chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days
when I forget my name, remind me
'Cause we bear the light of the Son of man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadow lands
Till the shadows disappear
'Cause He promised not to leave us
And His promises are true
So in the face of this chaos baby,
I can dance with you.

So lets go dancing in the minefields
Lets go sailing in the storms
Oh, lets go dancing in the minefields
And kicking down the doors
Oh, lets go dancing in the minefields
And sailing in the storms
Oh, this is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for.

Andrew Peterson~Dancing in the Minefield

I saw You

2011-04-23T15:42:00.006-05:00

I saw You, Jesus, last week, sitting on the curb, Your eyes were tired and heavy and You looked kinda cold. I didn't recognize You so I drove on by. Someone else would help You, who had more time.
I saw You in church on Sunday, You were divorced and forlorn and Your kids were acting bratty. I judged You from my seat and pushed You from my mind. Someone more adequate would stop and be kind.

I saw You yesterday once more crying all alone. Your clothes where torn and grimy and You said that You were nine. I figured someone else would take you in; your'e not any responsibility of mine. So I passed You by. But then You pricked my heart, I remembered how You died, for the sin that was not Your “responsibility”...no it was mine.

I saw You today again, walking down the road; You leaned upon Your cane as the wind began to rage. This time I stopped and got You, I knew better this time, then to leave my Savior waiting for another “call themselves a Christian” to pass You by.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me.’

Matthew 25:34-40

Painting Pictures of Egypt

2011-01-01T23:36:00.007-06:00

I don’t want to leave here
I don’t want to stay
It feels like pinching to me either way
The places I long for the most
Are the places where I’ve been
They are calling after me like a long lost friend

It’s not about losing faith
It’s not about trust
It’s all about comfortable
When you move so much
The place I was wasn’t perfect
But I had found a way to live
It wasn’t milk or honey
But then neither is this

I’ve been painting pictures of Egypt
Leaving out what it lacked
The future seems so hard
And I want to go back
But the places that used to fit me
Cannot hold the things I"ve learned
And those roads closed off to me
While my back was turned

The past is so tangible
I know it by heart
Familiar things are never easy to discard
I was dying for some freedom
But now I hesitate to go
Caught between the promise
And the things I know

If it comes too quick
I may not recognize it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?
If it comes too quick
I may not appreciate it
Is that the reason behind all this time and sand?

~Sara Groves

Mary's Song

2010-12-25T23:18:00.002-06:00

And Mary said,
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for He has been mindful
of the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is His Name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
just as He promised our ancestors.”
Luke 1:46-55

YOUR NAME

2010-11-21T22:31:00.003-06:00

The Name of Jesus is a strong and mighty tower. Some trust in chariots and some in horses,but we trust in the Name of the LORD our God.(psalm 20:7)

Nothing to Bring to the Table

2010-08-04T16:00:00.007-05:00

Often I live as though I need to bring something to the table in order to be used by God. Maybe a gift or experience that can be used to answer questions and comfort hurting hearts. That is when I forget that my greatest asset is Jesus Christ. I don't have to have been a prostitute to help a prostitute, I don't have to be an orphan to love an orphan. God gives us gifts to help people, but these gifts can only be used if they are fueled by Christ. Lately I've been figuring out that Christ doesn't need me at all.
And He doesn't need my failed attempts at helping someone on my terms, apart from Him.

In Acts 3 there is a story about a lame beggar who sat at the city gates begging for alms. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Taking him by the hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Peter didn't make that lame man walk, it was Jesus Christ.
Some of you may remember a previous post titled Crying in My Pillow
In that post I talked about a lesson I had learned the hard way. I had trusted in my strength to sustain me and my ability to love others to be sufficient. In the end I found myself burnt out and not really loving anyone.

Apart from Christ, we have NOTHING, nada, zippo, nothing. We have no resources to bring to the table, only Christ. The other day I was talking to a friend. She was hurting dramatically. She wanted answers. I found myself speechless. There was nothing I could think of that would be a comfort or help to her. That was when I remembered Christ. All I have is Jesus and that is all I need. He is the greatest hope and comfort. All I could do was show her the love Christ had for her.
Now don't get me wrong. We are Christ's hands and feet. One of the ways they will know the love of Christ is through us. But when we begin operating apart from Him, trusting in our ability and knowledge then we cease to show His love.
It is only when we surrender to Christ do we begin to truly love others.
And that is when beautiful things happen and when hearts are changed.~

The Right Decision

2010-05-21T11:15:00.010-05:00

The right decision is not always the easiest. Actually it is sometimes the hardest and the most painful.
Recently one of my siblings made the right the decision when she chose to have her beloved dog put down when he continually had an issue with biting and had a strong dislike for children and strangers. She acted in love when she decided that her dog was endangering her young nieces and nephews and the other people who came in contact with him. And even though it was very hard, she chose to do the right thing.

I can think of another Man Who knew that the only way the people He loved could be free from sin and death was to lay down His life and die. This was for people that hated, betrayed, abandoned, scorned Him, and ultimately nailed Him to the cross. Yeah, Jesus acted in love. And it was hard.

Love is something most of us have no idea about. It is not an emotion but a choice; a choice to do the right thing if it hurts us; a choice to love unconditionally even if the love is not returned, a choice to stand by someone no matter what.

Another word for it is sacrifice.

True,steadfast, unconditional love will hurt. But I guess that’s what makes it true,steadfast…and unconditional.

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:10-11

Nothing Without You

2010-05-10T21:01:00.004-05:00

Take these hands and lift them up
For I have not the strength to praise You near enough
See I have nothing, I have nothing without You

Take my voice and pour it out
Let it sing the songs of mercy I have found
For I have nothing, I have nothing without You

All my soul needs
Is all Your love to cover me
So all the world will see
That I have nothing without You

Take my body and build it up
May it be broken as an offering of love
For I have nothing, I have nothing without You

All my soul needs
Is all Your love to cover me
So all the world will see
That I have nothing
But I love You

With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
With all the strength that I can find

Take my time here on this earth
And let it glorify all that You are worth
For I am nothing,
I am nothing without You

~Bebo Norman,
Nothing Without You

Happy Birthday Glenell!

2010-05-02T17:58:00.011-05:00

Friday, April 30 was my oldest sister, Glenell's 27th birthday. But she is not here to celebrate it with us. 27 years ago Friday she passed away. That’s right, she died on her birthday. She was born 5 months premature at 18 weeks. And since her lungs were not fully developed, she fought and lived 1 hour.
Glenell had all her organs, she had all her fingers and toes, and she had a finger print and a tiny nose. She had tiny hair that grew all over her, and she could wave her arms and suck her thumb. She was a person.

Approximately 6,000 children are aborted each day. Many like Glenell at 18 weeks; many are younger, many older. Abortionist will tell you that life begins at birth. Before that, the child is a fetus and is just a blob.

27 years ago my parents lost their little girl, they buried her in a tiny grave.
Why? Because her life had meaning.

From 1973 through 2005 in the U.S., more than 45 million legal abortions have happened
In 2005 (the most recent year for which there is reliable data), approximately 1.21 million abortions took place in the U.S.

Their lives all had meaning too.

Happy Birthday Glenell. I know you are loving heaven, see ya soon.

A child in the womb at 19 weeks.

Facts on abortion sited from abort73.com

He is Near

2010-04-23T15:49:00.008-05:00

My family has been going though some hard times lately. It has been times that have tested us and are making us.
As human beings living in a fallen world, we all go through hard times, times of hurt, loneliness, grief and struggle.
There are lots of emotions you feel in these times. I can hardly describe the wide range of things I have felt. I have felt deep, deep sorrow and it has struck in areas I didn't know I had and has gone so intensely deep that at times nothing has been able to comfort it, nothing except Jesus. He has been so very near. He has been surrounding me. I can truly say He has carried me in His big arms. He has given me rest for my soul.
If you are hurting, know that Jesus is faithful. If you call on Him, He will answer you. He is near to the broken hearted. He loves you and me so very much, I have learned. He will not abandon you, He has never abandoned me.

“The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

Honeymoon Night.

2010-04-14T08:18:00.012-05:00

Note: I wrote this story a few years ago but recently stumbled upon it again. The meaning still runs true.------

The moment had finally come. Jestina paused one last time before the mirror. She dabbed at her nose with the last drop of foundation and gently twirled her rogue brush across her cheeks bones. Her freshly curled hair hung long and loose in crisp fine curls about her shoulders. She glanced down; it had been a hard choice between the two equally beautiful new nighties. The Satiny Pearl with its adorable pleats, had fit to perfection around her every curve; and the Ginger Rose which was of such a rich color, had such a lovely way in the gentle, lazy straps that fell loosely over her shoulders; so finally now after much consideration, she had settled on the Ginger Rose.

She now stood ready. Her heart beat wildly as she slowly cracked open the door and stepped softly in the bedroom.
Her eyes flickered up to meet the eyes of her new husband. Sean flashed her understanding smile.

He was so right for her, the perfect match. He was a man of integrity, honor and gentleness. They had bond close in a beautiful way. Never before had Jestina ever felt so accepted and loved by a man. Sean was her dream come true, her gift from God.
She smiled nervously back, her stomach fluttered with butterflies.
Sean sat, propped up against the headboard on their bed; the bed where they would soon unite in a totally new and graceful way.
Jestina's mind flashed back to the past. This bed; the place where she had yet to be physically, but was the place she knew she had mentally visited many times, each time with a different man. Her body had been touched and caressed by many other hands. Twas harmless flirting they said. She had been kissed many times. It was what "everybody" was doing, the dating thing. Her eyes came to rest upon her husband, yes her husband, the one man in the entire world that had deserved it all. But she had thought she enjoyed it; the playful touches, kisses and all the emotions swirled at the time. She couldn't count the number of times since Jr. High that she had lay awake fantasizing about every guy she had set her eyes on. Oh, she had loved it, it had been so satisfying she thought.
But now, all the bits and pieces from her short time pleasures came back to testify against all she had given away.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.
Sean's eyes took in every detail. "Jess" he implored, “What is it?"

Jestina raised her eyes to meet his, "I'm sorry" she whispered, "I only saved you this much."

Crying in My Pillow

2010-04-12T12:05:00.010-05:00

I awoke from my sleep, I lay, not ready to face the day. I was overwhelmed by life itself. A constant knot of tension had resided in the pit of my stomach for days.
I couldn't take it anymore. I cried out to God. "Lord, I don't have the the strength to bear this burden anymore. I have no more love to give!" I sobbed. And in the quiet after the storm as my tears melted away I heard within me that still small voice gently question me, "So have you come to the end of yourself yet? Have you run out of your limited store of strength and your ability to love others? Are you ready to accept My boundless strength and endless love? You don't have the capacity, Anne, to love and to give endlessly apart from Me."

I rolled over and cried again, but this time it was because I knew God was right. I had once again trusted in my ability to love others, and had counted on my strength to sustain me. Yet another lesson learned the hard way.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:8-10

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.

Luke 10:27

Another Year From Now

2010-02-16T15:35:00.014-06:00

Another year from now
Where will life find us?
Will it make us or will it break us?
What will be our passions?
What will be our fights?

Another year from now
Some will be given in marriage.
Will it be you or I,
How many times will our hearts be broken?
And many times will we have cried.

Another year from now
Some will forever fall asleep,
their life on earth determining the heavenly divide.
How many children will be born?
How many children will die?

Another year from now
How many more times will
The government lie?
When will their pride
become their fall?

Another year from now
How many times will
We say goodbye?
Who will we still call friend?

Another year from now
How many times will man
Spit in the face of God?
How many lost and wondering
Hearts will be saved?

Another year from now
A great mystery remains.
God alone knows the coming of the days
The story is still being written,
The future is in His hands.

~Anne

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

A Mighty Fortress

2010-01-13T19:12:00.002-06:00

A dear friend introduced me to this song. It is powerful.
The lyrics are at the bottom.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4H-iWayY5M

Our God is, a consuming fire,
A burning holy Flame, with glory and freedom
Our God is, the only righteous judge,
Ruling over us with kindness and wisdom

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You

A mighty fortress is our God
A sacred refuge is Your Name
Your Kingdom is unshakable
With You forever we will reign

Our God is, jealous for His own
None could comprehend, His love and His mercy
Our God is exalted on His throne
High above the heavens
Forever He’s worthy...

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You

We will keep our eyes on You
We will keep our eyes on You
So we can set our hearts on You
Lord we will set our hearts on You!

Written by Nathan and Christy Nockels
© 2009 worshiptogether.com Songs / sixsteps Music (admin. by EMI CMG Publishing) (ASCAP)

While You Were Sleeping

2009-12-12T10:39:00.005-06:00

In light of Christmas's quick approach I have a Christmas song. May our heart be not cold to the truth and the turmoil of this world. And may Christ not find us sleeping when He returns. Jesus is the reason for the season and His death is the reason He came.

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping
Will we be sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
While you were sleeping~ -Casting Crowns

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

1 Peter 3:15

He is Jealous for me.

2009-11-13T22:08:00.000-06:00

Lord,You have everything yet You are jealous for me.

Of Wolves

2009-10-30T23:29:00.000-05:00

There are two wolves fighting, a black wolf and a white wolf. Which one will win?

The one you feed.

Do you have a struggle you can't seem to get loose from?
I do and I found out that one of the reasons I can't let go of it is because I like it so much I continue to feed it.

A well fed black wolf doesn't die easily.

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." ~Galatians 6:7-8

Thanks for this Alyssa.

Captivate Us

2009-09-20T20:28:00.001-05:00

Beauty From Pain- Super Chick

2009-09-16T17:07:00.000-05:00

The lights go out all around me
One last candle to keep out the night
And then the darkness surrounds me
I know I'm alive but I feel like I've died
And all that's left is to accept that it's over
My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made
I try to keep warm but I just grow colder
I feel like I'm slipping away

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

My whole world is the pain inside me
The best i can do is just get through the day
When life before is only a memory
I'll wonder why God lets me walk through this place
And though I can't understand why this happened
I know that I will when i look back someday
And see how you've brought beauty from ashes
And made me as gold purified through these flames

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

Here I am, at the end of me
Tryin to hold to what i can't see
I forgot how to hope
This night's been so long
I cling to Your promise
There will be a dawn

After all this has passed, I still will remain
After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And there'll be beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
~2 Corinthians 12:8-10

Loving A Person -Sara Groves

2009-09-16T16:52:00.000-05:00

Loving a person just the way they are, it's no small thing
It takes some time to see things through
Sometimes things change, sometimes we're waiting
We need grace either way

Hold on to me
I'll hold on to you
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through

There's a lot of pain in reaching out and trying
It's a vulnerable place to be
Love and pride can't occupy the same spaces baby
Only one makes you free

Hold on to me
I'll hold on to you
Let's find out the beauty of seeing things through

If we go looking for offense
We're going to find it
If we go looking for real love
We're going to find it

If we are the Body

2009-08-03T17:50:00.000-05:00

For the past six years I have been one of the people everyone calls crazy when I participate in a 3 ½ day bike trip that travels 300 miles from one state to another. I’ve always loved it; the people you get to know, the fun you have but most of all the dozens of life lessons you learn.
Bike trip isn’t easy. Actually if you’re not someone who exercises a lot, and if you haven’t trained enough prior to bike trip, it can be very painful. You learn perseverance, and you develop a back bone for pushing even when it hurts. You learn that you need other people, to pull you in draft lines, and to encourage you. But most important you learn that it isn’t all about you. Other people hurt, everyone struggles at some point and everyone needs encouragement and love. This is a lesson I have had to relearn year after year. This year though, I began to see this concept in a new way.
Each day we are given a Bible verse to tape on our bike to read throughout the day. The verses this year had to do with the Body of Christ.
One of the verses was 1 Corinthians 12:24b-26.

“But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.”

On bike trip this needed to be our mindset. We all had a different part to play, yet we were equal, none of us were more important than another. And when one of us was hurting, we all needed to be hurting along side of them, carrying their burden. I often knew when one of the other bikers was struggling. Their legs slowed up, they peddled on alone. Their shoulders sagged in. You had at that point had a choice to make, to continue on passed them or to slow up and give them encouragement or maybe pull in front of them to break the wind.
I began thinking about it, if this is how the Body of Christ needs to operate on bike trip. And if bike trip is like life, than I have been living life all wrong. People are hurting all around us. Our own families and friends are struggling. We know it yet we fail to come along side of them, to serve them and to carry their burden. Life is hard, downright painful at times. We are human and we have a sin nature. We all sin and fall short of God’s best. We fail. As Christ’s followers we have to see the hurting people and to reach out and have compassion and love them for who they are and what they are struggling with down deep inside.
I have failed to do this so many times. I have lived for myself and for my interests and have missed the bigger picture. “But if we are the Body, why aren’t our hands reaching.”

Why should we do this?

“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” John 13:14-15

Because Jesus did so much more.

Experiment

2009-05-04T21:23:00.000-05:00

I am considering deleting this blog.
You may have noticed that I rarely update it.
You also may have noticed that the amount of feedback I receive is zero. Not that feed back is what's important but it is rather nice to know you are not speaking to an empty audience.
So here is the experiment. If you do read this blog and appreciate what it says, then please let me know. I will delete it in one month if I don't hear from you.

You shall teach them to your children

2009-04-06T20:29:00.000-05:00

And if you will indeed obey My commandments that I command you today,to love the LORD your God, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And He will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full. Take care lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you, and He will shut up the heavens, so that there will be no rain, and the land will yield no fruit, and you will perish quickly off the good land that the LORD is giving you.
You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, talking of them when you are sitting in your house, and when you are walking by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,

Deuteronomy 11:13-21

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Deuteronomy 4:9

Pass the Baton to the next generation.
Lest we forget the Lord.

Generations will reap what I sow.

2009-04-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

This song really put in perspective how important it is that Christians pass on the truths of God to the next generation.
Lest we forget.

I can taste the fruit of Eve
I’m aware of sickness, death and disease
The results of our choices are vast
Eve was the first but she wasn’t the last

And if I were honest with myself
Had I been standing at that tree
My mouth and my hands would be covered with fruit
Things I shouldn’t know and things I shouldn’t see

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

She taught me to fear the serpent
I’m learning to fear myself
And all of the things I am capable of
In my search for wisdom, acceptance and wealth

And to say that the devil made me do it
Is a cop out and a lie
The devil can’t make me do anything
When I’m calling on Jesus Christ

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

To my great, great, great grand daughter
Live in peace
To my great, great, great grand son
Live in peace
To my great, great, great grand daughter
Live in peace
To my great, great, great grand son
Live in peace, oh, live in peace

Remind me of this with every decision
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

Oh, remind me
Generations will reap what I sow
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know
Oh, I may never know

Generations
Sara Groves

A childrens program part 2. Together for good

2008-12-15T16:31:00.000-06:00

"God always has a reason for what He does."

God wanted to do something in this church this year through the children's Christmas program. Over and over again He reminded me of this. If God was going to do something, we wanted every one's hearts to be ready. Friends from all over prayed. They prayed that the hearts of every single teacher, sound guy, piano player, child who sang and every person in the audience would be soft and open. They were there for a reason.

At times my heart would tell me that I was just making it all up and everything was of my own doing and nothing was going to happen but I had to remember what God had told me through His Word and remember the lessons that I learned the hard way because I had wanted to be sufficient in myself. God is sovereign. He always has a reason for what He does.

The big day arrived. Oddly enough, I wasn't nervous. Someone far greater than me was working and whatever happened would be apart of the plan.
The children entered and filed onto the stage. This was the moment. I stepped out and began.
•A couple Christmas carols
•Three verses from Isaiah each prophesying the birth of Christ.
•The children sat, lights dimmed. Scene one of the skit began.
The story of a grandfather telling three children about the birth of Christ, one of the children commenting that he thought the manger story was a bit of a fairy tale.
"That is because you have not heard the rest of the story" The grandfather replied.
"The rest of the story?" The child asks. "Yes,” the grandfather replies "the story of God coming from heaven in the form of a child and dying a terrible death on the cross"
•Scene one finishes. The children stand and sing a song about His death.
•More verses from Isaiah prophesying the death of Christ.
•Scene two begins. The cruel story of Jesus' death yet this wasn't the end of the story. Jesus rose from the dead.
•The children sing a song about Easter.
• Verses from Isaiah about Jesus setting the captives free.
• Scene three. What now? Right before Jesus went back to heaven He said "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
•The program ended with one of my favorite song titled "Our heart"
And as the children sang, elders, ministers, missionary committee member, and spouses came forward and sang these words
"Our heart, our desire, Is to see the nations worship.
Our cry, our prayer, Is to sing your praise to the ends of the earth.
That with one mighty voice, Every tribe and tongue rejoices.”
Everyone stood, and one of the elders prayed.

I do believe God was glorified.

A Christmas Program. Part 1. Not my Program.

2008-12-14T17:10:00.000-06:00

"The glories of Christ Jesus are far greater then anything any man could ever do on their own."

I love seeing God work...especially when it is so obvious that it is Him, and when it is a direct result of prayer.
He worked in such a way today.

July 2008. God began this work by filling my head with ideas for that my churches children's Christmas program that year. And though everything was not completely clear, He had laid the basics in my mind. The story of Christmas, not just a baby in a manger but the man on the cross, the Resurrection of Christ and the great commission.
So with much thought and prayer, I volunteered to direct the program.

September. I started teaching the 2-5year olds the songs they would sing.
As I planned out the details, I was advised to maybe do a skit.
With more thought, I decided to write my own script. As I started the process,
I made two goals: 1. To have the script finished by end of September and 2. Have cast lined up by the beginning of October.

News flash. God's plans are not our plans and God's time is not our time.

I tried to write the script on my own in my time. But first God had a big a lesson to teach me. And as I labored for the write words to say, I found myself frustrated that all I could write was shallow and stupid jabber. And as the days passed to no avail, I became more and more stressed to the point of tossing and turning at night and when I would think of the unfinished script I felt great panic.

During this time I would ask myself what exactly was I thinking when I volunteered to do this program.:)

Finally I had had enough. I stopped, I cried. Then I gave the pen to God. I told Him that He could have it all. I would be the tool in His hands. I gave Him the script and the cast. He knew best.

God had the pen and the words began to flow. After others had edited, I finished the script mid October. The cast came together shortly there after.

Many more times I would cry out to God and give Him the burden that wasn't met for me. Many more times I would give Him each song, each verse, each teacher, each child, each prop, each motion. And most of all, I would give Him myself.

God in return, filled me with peace. All was well, and with the advice of others and the continueal leading of God, the program slowly began to take shape.

Mighty Men

2008-11-10T20:56:00.000-06:00

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Gal 1:10

For consider your calling, brothers: mnot many of you were wise according to worldly standards,not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1 Co 1:26-30

God chose me not because of my ability and strength but because of my inability and weakness.

So who am I trying to please? What do I have to take pride in?

Peace that all is in His time

2008-10-28T18:00:00.000-05:00

I'm currently directing a children's Christmas program of around 100 children.
There have been a lot of details and things that I've had to work through; and many times I've became very stressed about how I was going to get it all done. Earlier this month I still was writing the script, it wasn't finished when I wanted to have it done. I didn't even know what to write. I was nervous about what people would think...would they look down on me?...or would they hate the program?....
And was it foolish of me to even try this?
Finally I couldn't take it anymore. I stopped and cried out to God. I told Him to write the script, change the hearts, open my heart to all He had in mind for the program and be Lord of every detail. It is for His glory, make me merely the tool.
And He is.

A Peace that passes all understanding. The only time I've known it is when I quit being in control and I for that short time quit trusting in myself and begin to trust in God. Then I have that deep, deep, quiet peace.

I have learned in yet another way that God's time isn't mine and that His thoughts are much higher then mine.
But the program isn't for another six weeks…so please pray that I would continue to grow and trust...

God is Good, praise His Name
Anne

Time flies

2008-10-10T21:27:00.001-05:00

Life....It's a crazy thing. At this point I am praying that God would teach me to use my time wisely and when life becomes overwhelming, He would teach me to move with it graciously. It shouldn't rock the boat.....but it does. And when it does, these verses become my reminders that God will always be there. That He is sovereign and He is Good

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and He will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.Proverbs 19:21

Don't let life get you down, trust in God, He will carry you.

Just a thought to strive for......

2008-06-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:10-12

As a single young woman currently still at home and under my Dad's leadership, I have the opportunity to be a huge influence on my Dad and brothers.
Here's a thought, take the areas in the Bible that tell wives how to treat their husbands and think of them as ways daughters should treat their dads and brothers. To begin to treat them with respect, to bring them good and not harm, that the men in our lives could put their full confidence in us and lack nothing of value.
~Just a thought

p.s. read the rest of chapter 31:)

A bad mood gone good

2008-06-13T16:34:00.000-05:00

I was in a bad mood today....and I didn't know it. In fact, if anyone had said anything about it, I would have rolled my eyes and said that I was perfectly happy but I was tired of everyone else being a pain. I even without a thought,would've huffed that "so and so" wouldn't stop complaining and "so and so" kept asking stupid questions and was not listening and I wished that they all would just be quiet.
But I didn't know I was the problem. I thought that I was just being my own "sweet" self. If you would have confronted me, I would have been offended.
I went through the whole day with this attitude, picking arguments with my sister and criticizing my brother about meaningless stuff. By the end, I had everyone else out of sorts and they all started huffing about as well.
It wasn't until later when I was helping my brother take a pile of stuff off the stairway that I finally listened to myself and the things I was saying. I was all a sudden taken back as I heard myself accuse my brother of not using common sense when cleaning and I actually huffed when he flippantly tossed a bobby pin into a near by laundry basket, something so pointless. That's when I realized I was being a brat.

Here's a thought. Often as humans, we don't see when we're the problem and though to everyone else it may seem obvious, we are somehow blinded to the truth. We often look at ourselves and don't see the facts, we think we're fine, even better then everyone else and in complete honesty will tell others just how "fine" we are when they confront us.
Also, if we swing that around, if we have ever been an "onlooker" to someone like this and we feel the need to tell that person off, we need to remember that that person may not know they are the problem and if you confront them, they will be offended.
We need to first pray that God would reveal to us the problems in our own hearts then pray for that other person that God would show them the truth. And last of all, have compassion on them and speak if it's God's will, in love.

Because Lord, You died my death.

2008-03-14T10:25:00.000-05:00

With Easter soon approaching, I began about thinking about all Jesus had to do that day on Calvary and also what a thing it was when He rose again.
As I was thinking about it all, this poem came to mind.

I don't feel the pain
Of nails in my hands.
I don't feel the shame
Of whips upon my naked skin.
I don't feel the loneliness
As I'm deserted by all my friends.

And I don't know the sting of dying
Because Lord, You died my death.

I don't feel the mocker's spit
Running down my face.
I don't feel the burning flames
Of hell's eternal fire.
I don't know the bondage of forever sin
For Lord, You set me free.
I'm no longer blind,
Lord, You let me see.

I, a sinner, condemned to die,
Now stand, unscarred, alive.
Because Jesus, fully God, fully man,
perfect, blameless, chose to die in my stead.

I don't know the sting of dying,
Because Lord You died my death,
And rose again.

Do I love God?

2007-12-07T11:53:00.000-06:00

God answered a prayer request today. It was something I had pretty much lost hope of being answered yet God came through. The first thing I could say was "Praise God, He is so Good!" Then I began to wonder, "do I say that He is good based on the fact that He answers my prayers or because He is as Himself is all glorious, awesome and indeed very good. Just because He is regardless wether He ever answers my prayers or not. In my heart, I had to wonder wether my love for Him was just for self-centered reasons and wether I actually loved Him for who He is.
My Dad, one time challenged me; "if everything I ever dreamed of about heaven; the beautiful colors, music, seeing the saints from long ago and knowing the family members I lost and having there being no pain or sadness; if all that was not there, but only God in His presence dwelled, would I still long for heaven?" Another way to put it would be if everthing we dreamed of was there except for God, would we even want to be there? If I can imagine enjoying a heaven without God then I'm not sure I really love Him......that my love only goes to the bounds of what He can do for me.
I remember the chorus of a Rich Mullins song titled "Brother's Keeper"

My friends ain't the way I wish they were
They are just the way they are
And I will be my brother's keeper
Not the one who judges him
I won't despise him for his weakness
I won't regard him for his strength
I won't take away his freedom
I will help him learn to stand

The love for his brother this song speaks goes beyond what that brother can do for him. It is a selfless love that does not require love in return nor good deeds to the other. No matter what, he will love his brother.

And what should my Love for God be? Certainly not a self-centered love. I headed back to God's word. It says that God is love(1 John 4:8) but what is this love?
1 Cor. 13:4-7 says
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." This is how He loves me, I know this is true.
The Bible also says "If you love me, you will obey what I command.(John 14:15) And what are His commands? If you take all the commands of God in the Bible and combine them you will find they can all be summed up with these two "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.(Luke 10:27)
The love, I believe we should have for God is just that.One that is not bound by what He does for us but as John 15:9-17 says
"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other.

What love is this? That a man would lay down his life for a friend.
Indeed, God is very Good, His name be praised.
~AGK

God is Sovereign....we cannot boast

2007-11-16T20:58:00.000-06:00

Here are some verses that have been on my mind lately..I don't know why but they seem somehow to go together.....
Lately, Often I've been really struck just by how meaningless our wisdom and the things we call important are....as it says in Ecc. 2:10-16

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.
Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun.
Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.
What more can the king's successor do
than what has already been done?
I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.
The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.
Then I thought in my heart,
"The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?"
I said in my heart,
"This too is meaningless."
For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
in days to come both will be forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise man too must die!"

We try so hard...only to die in the end, the only thing that was gained was the things that were done for Christ....some other verses I came across recently were from 1 Corinthians 1:20-31
"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."
And one in Esther.

he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
-Esther 4:13-15

Sometimes I look at everything I strive for and it all seems so empty..at which I have to believe that I'm striving for the wrong things....It's so important to remember that God longs to take our nothingness and our weakness and to use us, we can't look at our lives and call it all our gain...we are placed, chosen and called...we don't come to God on our own but by His gentle hand drawing us to Himself....you can take this 2 ways....My dad pointed out the other day that the world is trying to say that morality was their idea..that man is basically good, like it had nothing to do with a God...Morality, the law and everything was God's idea...not ours....we as humans are seriously nothing....in a recent letter with a friend it was said "How could a God so perfect.... use the imperfect....it's rather humbling to think about it....like have you ever heard one of those speakers who tell you for an hour or two straight about who God is and at the end you end up feeling ....lowly and worthless...But then there's the other half of the time when you take it all for granted and then you begin to put yourself higher and think you have it all......but the fact is... we are very important to God...we are His children...His pride and Joy the Love of His life...we are very important.....BECAUSE OF HIM....And somehow He over looks our imperfections and loves us with a love unexplainable.

I really don't know if any of that made sense...just some thoughts.....sorry it was so long

Truly in the Race

2007-09-18T22:46:00.000-05:00

Where are my ambitions? What are my dreams?
Are my thoughts truly going for Your plan for me?

And when I strive for the goal, and I'm in the race,
Are my actions running Your holy way?

I want to say that I'm pure and I want to prove my love;
But am I really excepting all Your dreams for me?

I want to say I'm a Christian, a believer at the cross,
But are my actions all that I say, Am I truly in the Race?

Is this costing me anything? To stand in Your Army is
Just one small thing, but to fight and die in the battle...am I willing

There's nothing more I long for than Your face
But the harvest is so plenty and Your children are so few.

I say that I love You Lord, and anything for You I'd do.
You say "Child you have your words right, now go and feed my sheep."

Am I truly in the race or am I fighting my own fight?
Are my actions really showing You through me?

Is this costing me anything, to stand in Your Army is one small thing
But to fight and die in the battle..am I willing?

Am I truly, really living and dying Your holy way?
Oh Lord, Am I truly in Your race?

An example to others of what You have done,
Of what You are doing in me.

-AGK-