New Things

It seems as if there is an anticipation of new things as the new school year approaches. New teachers, new classes, new books, pencils, backpacks...new people (a new flux of people some every summer in the military community). Since Joel and I hang out with high school students, we too are feeling this excitement, anticipation, and questioning of what this new school year holds.

One of the biggest new things, is that we will be starting small groups in our church. Joel and I will be leading one for our "adult" friends, and then I will be leading an 11th and 12th grade girls study. This is a bit scary for me. It means that surface level relationship are no longer a plausible option. The goal of a small group, apart from learning about Jesus, is sharing life with those who partake in the group. We've been sharing life with our adult friends for a while, but somehow we've managed to steer clear of major heart issues. The heart issues is where its at though; knowing that you're completely accepted for who you are, with all of your faults, and quirks. One of the other things that worries me is the different doctrines that people hold to be true. Because of where we are (a baptist church) Joel and I tend to be out numbered in our thinking about certain issues. I guess we'll just have to hash through these things with each other and with Jesus through His word and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

I think the way I want to do it is share food, worship, and the Bible together... you can't really go wrong with that can you?

Other new thing that I think about is the youth band that I am currently leading. Some of our key leaders left this year with their families. They went back to the states and are getting plugged into churches there. (Side note: I just got an email from one of the guys, that he is now playing and leading in his new youth band. SO EXCITING!) Anyway, our band grew to know one another really well. They became quite good at reading each other, and just in general their musical talent progressed on an individual and group level. With new people coming in, we'll have to work of all of these things again...so much work...starting from the stage 1, again... But I do feel its worth it.

With all of these new things I am hopeful that the Lord will give me grace to work with people to be successful in sharing Jesus and just simply working with different leaders to love on these youth kids and anyone else that the Lord puts in our paths.

The Cross

"Do we enjoy new identities, so that we are no longer to see ourselves as nothing but failures, moral pariahs, disappointments to our parents--but as deeply loved, blood-bought, human beings, redeemed by Christ, declared just by God himself, owing to the fact that God himself presented his Son Jesus as the propitiation for our sins? All this secured by Christ on the cross and granted to those who have faith in him," Scandalous, D.A. Carson.

This question that D.A. Carson asked really hit home with me today. So many times in my life I find that I identify myself by what I do or don't do. I think this is because of the pressure that our world puts on us to produce a product and that we are only as good as our efficiency to produce that product. What happens though when there isn't a real visible product that we are producing? For me, not working, being home most of the time, what am I worth? We become what we do. Our value and worth is defined by it. If we aren't "doing" anything, well then we must not be worth anything. How false that is!

We are deeply loved, blood-bought, human beings, redeemed by Christ, declared just by God himself. Period. The End. The Lord has given us a value and a worth, not based on what we do, but based on what Jesus has done for us. This is good news for sure.

I need to let this reality seep into my brain. I need to think about this day and night...maybe then I will start believing what the Bible says about who I am. Maybe I'll stop letting the world, culture, or even my family define my worth.

Dilemma wretched: how shall holiness

Of brilliant life unshaded, tolerate

Rebellion's fetid slime, and not abate

In its own glory, compromised at best?

Dilemma wretched: how can truth attest

That God is love, and not be shamed by hate

And wills enslaved and bitter death--the freight

Of curse deserved, the human rebels' mess?

The Cross! The Cross! The sacred meeting-place

Where, knowing neither compromise nor loss,

God's love and holiness in shattering grace

The great dilemma slays! The Cross! The Cross!

This holy, loving God whose dear Son dies

By this is just--and the one who justifies.

Forever Reign

Ever since I heard this song on Sunday its been stuck in my head. I just can't seem to stop thinking about it and singing it. The words ring true in my heart and through all of life's adventures. Running to the arms of the Father there is peace, goodness, joy, and light. He is more than we need and everything we need. And the best part is that he is here. Its so amazing! Here are the words:

Forever Reign

You are good, You are good
When there's nothing good in me
You are love, You are love
On display for all to see
You are light, You are light
When the darkness closes in
You are hope, You are hope
You have covered all my sin

You are peace, You are peace

When my fear is crippling
You are true, You are true
Even in my wandering
You are joy, You are joy
You're the reason that I sing
You are life, You are life,
In You death has lost it's sting

Oh, I’m running to your arms,
I’m running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

You are more, You are more
Than my words will ever say
You are Lord, You are Lord
All creation will proclaim
You are here, You are here
In your presence I'm made whole
You are God, You are God
Of all else I'm letting go

Oh, I’m running to your arms
I’m running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

My heart will sing
no other name
Jesus, Jesus

Oh, I’m running to your arms
I’m running to arms
The riches of your love
Will always be enough
Nothing compares to Your embrace
Light of the world forever reign

Robin of Locksley

One of my newest heros is Robin of Locksley, better known as Robin Hood. There are so many things that are admirable about him, like his honesty, courage, leadership, his love for Marian, and his kindness to name a few. But the thing that I find the most interesting is that he is just an ordinary man trying to make the world more just for his people. He submits to authority and yet isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers when the time is right. He, Marian, Friar Tuck, and the "Merry Men," live differently than all of the others who are under the rule of the king. They choose to live by another standard, another way of life that is more liberating and life giving than the rule of the king. They are for the people, for the poor, the children, the hungry, and the helpless women who've lost their husbands to battle. The best part is that these are mere men. They just see that there is something not right about the way the world is at this moment in time, and they are about enacting change into that world.

I feel that this is how we as Christians should live; there is something not quite right about the world these days. The fall has skewed the way people interact and the way that we go about our daily lives, but there are people in need! There is a creation that is waiting for the TOTAL transformation which happens when Jesus returns, BUT started when Jesus was resurrected on the cross. You see, we are supposed to bring change and hope to this dying and confused world, because we know Jesus. We are supposed to help the widows, orphans, hungry, poor, and dying, because we've seen that his ministry and work on this earth was about these things. We are supposed to live life in the knowledge and reality that Jesus defeated hunger, death, decay, and corruption, because he did. We are to be stewards of his good creation giving of who we are until he takes us to heaven or until he returns. We are to be like Robin Hood, though a mere man, was changing his reality and the reality of those around him because he had a vision of future things. He had a vision of the hope that would one day become not just a hope, but the tangible way he lives. When Jesus returns, he will make all things new. He will restore, rebuild, and renew all things. This is our hope that will one day be so tangible, and much more real than anything we know now. This is the hope that is in Jesus.

More about the resurrection...

Here are some more quotes that I really liked from the book, "Surprised by Hope," by N.T. Wright. I also just like thinking about these things. It gets me really excited for the resurrection, and makes me say, Let Your Kingdom Come!

In talking about what our resurrected bodies will look like he says, "Dust we are and dust we shall be. But God can do new things with dust."

And he says about 2 Cor. 4 & 5, "What Paul is asking us to imagine is that there will be a new mode of physicality, which stands in relation to our present body as our present body does to a ghost. It will be as much more real, more firmed up, more bodily, than our present body as our present body is more substantial, more touchable, than a disembodied spirit.

"God is the creator, and his new world will be exactly what we need and want, with the love and beauty of the present world taken up and transformed."

"The resurrection means that what you do in the present, in working hard for the gospel, is not wasted. It is not in vain. It will be completed, will have its fulfillment, in God's future."

When talking about how many Christians think that heaven is the end-all, he says, "the point of all this is not, of course, merely our own happy future, important though that is, but the glory of God as we come fully to reflect his image."



Read these and let me know what you think. :)

Resurrection

I just bought the book, "Surprised by Hope," by N.T. Wright. I am first off, amazed at this guys sheer intelligence. Sometimes I have to read a section a few times to truly understand what he's talking about. Secondly, the information in this book is vital, I think, for Christians in today's society who hold a Gnostic way of thinking, ie., the purpose of being a Christian is to go to heaven when you die. In this thinking, death isn't conquered, it is merely a spiritual thing. But the Bible, in Romans 8:18-25 and Revelation 21&22, clearly state otherwise. The Christian view should be this:

that "what the creator God has done in Jesus Christ, and in his resurrection, is what he intends to do for the while world-meaning by world, the entire cosmos with all its history."


Here are some quotes about redemption and resurrection that I really like from this book.

"Redemption doesn't mean scrapping what's there and starting again from a clean slate but rather liberating what has come to be enslaved."

"What creation needs is neither abandonment nor evolution but rather redemption and renewal; and this is both promised and guaranteed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This is what the whole world's waiting for."


I haven't yet finished the book. As I said above, its challenging for me to wrap my mind around some of the things he is talking about, mostly I think, because its new for me. I can't remember one sermon that I've heard about the TRUE Easter message, meaning, the implications of Jesus resurrection on the world, and more so, the implications in my life NOW.

A Man who Trusts in the Lord

Jeremiah 7:8-9. "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."


Laura and Chey- Sisters- Thank you for showing me how to be a woman who loves Jesus as her only passion. I will forever look up to you two as spiritual leaders in my life. And secretly I do want to be like you when I grow up.





Audrey, Anna, Maria, Rachel, and Kim- Little Girls- Thank you for journeying with me and experiencing Jesus with me. You guys helped me form a foundation of the basics in Christianity...praying, reading the word, etc. I will forever remember all of the times we've had together at the girls' nights. You guys are the best! (Sorry Kim, I don't have a recent pic. of us. You're still loved though!!)




Hope and Brittany- I don't know what I would have done or where I'd be now if you guys hadn't come into my life in college. You guys are true friends through and through; always ready to give of yourself for others. Thank you for the many times that you helped me delay doing school work for a doughnut/gil. night. You both are amazing. Thank you for showing me how to love Jesus more.



Mazvita- You get your own category because you are unique. Thank you for talking with me all of those late nights. Thank you for sharing your heart with me and being vulnerable with me. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and discernment. Thank you for letting me watch you grow in the Lord, in the painful times and the happy times. (I am so excited for you and Ben!)


Laura. Chey. Audrey. Anna. Maria. Rachel. Kim. Chelsea. Hope. Brittany. Mazvita. Thank you for being godly women of faith. Thank you for trusting in the Lord with seemingly unwavering faith. Thank you for loving Jesus and depending on Him even through the toughest of situations. Thank you for always trusting that the Lord has a plan and purpose for your life, and for my life. Thank you for clinging to Jesus and hiding yourself in Him. You've left a mark on my life forever. You are true friends. Thank you for being selfless and giving yourself fully to God and to people. Thank you for sharing your lives with me. You are all such amazing, beautiful women.

Genesis 4

As I was reading today in Genesis 4, the question that arose was, "why is Abel's offering better than Cain's? Why did God, who chose each of their professions accept one and reject the other?" So I decided to look it up in Matthew Henry's commentary. This is what he says about the matter. The bold and italicized letters are the parts I found interesting.

Verses 1-7 When Cain was born, Eve said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. Perhaps she thought that this was the promised seed. If so, she was wofully disappointed. Abel signifies vanity: when she thought she had the promised seed in Cain, whose name signifies possession, she was so taken up with him that another son was as vanity to her. Observe, each son had a calling. It is the will of God for every one to have something to do in this world. Parents ought to bring up their children to work. Give them a Bible and a calling, said good Mr. Dod, and God be with them. We may believe that God commanded Adam, after the fall, to shed the blood of innocent animals, and after their death to burn part or the whole of their bodies by fire. Thus that punishment which sinners deserve, even the death of the body, and the wrath of God, of which fire is a well-known emblem, and also the sufferings of Christ, were prefigured. Observe that the religious worship of God is no new invention. It was from the beginning; it is the good old way, jeremiah 6:16 . The offerings of Cain and Abel were different. Cain showed a proud, unbelieving heart. Therefore he and his offering were rejected. Abel came as a sinner, and according to God's appointment, by his sacrifice expressing humility, sincerity, and believing obedience. Thus, seeking the benefit of the new covenant of mercy, through the promised Seed, his sacrifice had a token that God accepted it. Abel offered in faith, and Cain did not, hebrews 11:4 . In all ages there have been two sorts of worshippers, such as Cain and Abel; namely, proud, hardened despisers of the gospel method of salvation, who attempt to please God in ways of their own devising; and humble believers, who draw near to him in the way he has revealed. Cain indulged malignant anger against Abel. He harboured an evil spirit of discontent and rebellion against God. God notices all our sinful passions and discontents. There is not an angry, envious, or fretful look, that escapes his observing eye. The Lord reasoned with this rebellious man; if he came in the right way, he should be accepted. Some understand this as an intimation of mercy. "If thou doest not well, sin, that is, the sin-offering, lies at the door, and thou mayest take the benefit of it." The same word signifies sin, and a sacrifice for sin. "Though thou hast not done well, yet do not despair; the remedy is at hand." Christ, the great sin-offering, is said to stand at the door, revelation 3:20 . And those well deserve to perish in their sins, that will not go to the door to ask for the benefit of this sin-offering. God's acceptance of Abel's offering did not change the birthright, and make it his; why then should Cain be so angry? Sinful heats and disquiets vanish before a strict and fair inquiry into the cause.

Verses 8-15 Malice in the heart ends in murder by the hands. Cain slew Abel, his own brother, his own mother's son, whom he ought to have loved; his younger brother, whom he ought to have protected; a good brother, who had never done him any wrong. What fatal effects were these of our first parents' sin, and how must their hearts have been filled with anguish! Observe the pride, unbelief, and impenitence of Cain. He denies the crime, as if he could conceal it from God. He tries to cover a deliberate murder with a deliberate lie. Murder is a crying sin. Blood calls for blood, the blood of the murdered for the blood of the murderer. Who knows the extent and weight of a Divine curse, how far it reaches, how deep it pierces? Only in Christ are believers saved from it, and inherit the blessing. Cain was cursed from the earth. He found his punishment there where he chose his portion, and set his heart. Every creature is to us what God makes it, a comfort or a cross, a blessing or a curse. The wickedness of the wicked brings a curse upon all they do, and all they have. Cain complains not of his sin, but of his punishment. It shows great hardness of heart to be more concerned about our sufferings than our sins. God has wise and holy ends in prolonging the lives even of very wicked men. It is in vain to inquire what was the mark set upon Cain. It was doubtless known, both as a brand of infamy on Cain, and a token from God that they should not kill him. Abel, being dead, yet speaketh. He tells the heinous guilt of murder, and warns us to stifle the first risings of wrath, and teaches us that persecution must be expected by the righteous. Also, that there is a future state, and an eternal recompence to be enjoyed, through faith in Christ and his atoning sacrifice. And he tells us the excellency of faith in the atoning sacrifice and blood of the Lamb of God. Cain slew his brother, because his own works 1 john consequence of the enmity put between the Seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, the war broke out, which has been waged ever since. In this war we are all concerned, none are neuter; our Captain has declared, He that is not with me is against me. Let us decidedly, yet in meekness, support the cause of truth and righteousness against Satan.

Faithfulness in the mundane

Sometimes life is just normal; nothing new is happening, nothing tragic, nothing overly exciting, just the same ol' same ol'. Laundry, cleaning, going to work, hanging with friends, church, movies, reading, eating...the ins and outs of life. Its like for a moment in our lives, life plateaus, no ups or downs but all is constant. stagnant. Yet, still moving forward.

I think during these times its the hardest to TRUST. Its hardest to LOVE. to find REST and COMFORT. Hardest to SIT and BE with the Lord. It feels like life has stopped. We lose our purpose. We lose our drive. We feel normal. We feel mundane. I mean, we are aren't doing anything spectacular. So we must not be anything spectacular, right?

WRONG! We're letting life and the things we do define who we are, define our self worth and our importance in this world. The reality is that the Lord defines who we are. He has given us purpose, even in the mundane, "go therefore and make disciples...teaching them to observe all I have commanded you..."

Lean upon Jesus when life seems meaningless. He will give you purpose; Jesus becomes the focus. Be faithful in the little things. Walk one step at a time. Trust in Him because even the mundane can be beautiful, full of meaning, and full of life.

Worship

" Worship is our response both personal and corporate to God for who He is and what He has done expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live." -Louie Giglio

Worship starts and ends with God. As we recognize His worth our natural response is worship.

"O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth, Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens! From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength ,Because of Your adversaries, To make the enemy and the revengeful cease. When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O Lord , our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth!" Psalm 8

Worship is recognizing His worth; Who He is.

"Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, The One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, Not one of them is missing." Isaiah 40:26

"Who is like the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high, who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and in the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children." Psalm 113:5-9

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who had first given to Him that it might be paid back again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." Romans 11:33-36

Worship is recognizing His worth; What He has done and is doing.

"Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." Philippians 2:8

"And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." 1 John 2: 2

"O LORD, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain to it. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Your hand will lead me, and Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, "Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to You, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You." Psalm 139: 1-12

When we recognize God's worth all we can do is express the deep emotions in our hearts. This expression comes in various ways; we "shout joyfully to the Lord," break forth and sing," "clap your hands," "bow low and worship," "fall prostrate before Him who sits on the throne," "cast their crowns before the throne," "kneel before the Lord our maker," ect.

Our attitude expresses our worship to God, with joy, thanksgiving, awe, gratitude, and humility.

We worship God in spirit and truth. "To worship God in spirit requires that we be alive on the inside, experiencing the life He gives by spiritual birth. Without His life, you can never truly worship. And to worship in truth means to worship God as He really is, bringing more than our words, but bringing words amplified by an authentic life that flows from being spiritually remade within." -Louie Giglio

Our actions, expressions, and attitudes in worship should be "amplified by an authentic life that flows from being spiritually remade within." I LOVE that! Worship is the lifestyle that you choose when you see God as He truly is, in all of His glory, splendor, and majesty. All you can do is honor Him and praise Him for who He is and what He's done. All you can do-must do- is give Him everything you have through a life of service to Him and to those around you.

"Its not the words I sing, but me I bring; I'm the offering laid at your feet, My steps the melody, oh so sweet, All of me in praise of Thee."

Costly Grace

I've been having a rough night...I think it mostly has to do with the fact that the more I sit silently, the more I realize my humanity, which isn't necessarily a bad thing...just hard. There is just so much ugliness in my heart, so much refining that needs to be done. Sometimes in the silence, when all my thoughts come up, I wonder if I'm truly saved and if I've been changed even in the least bit by the Holy Spirit. John was talking today at church about Jesus and that it was a costly grace. I feel like I need a deeper revelation of what the truly means. I need a deeper knowledge of who Jesus is. Then I will know that despite ALL of my shortcomings, He still is working in my life. I'm not questioning my salivation really...I guess you could say that I am aware of my need for a Savior. I don't even understand fully.

"Oh wretched man that I am." "Oh to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be."

I guess its a good thing that I am learning to hate my sin. How is it possible to stop sinning? The outward action sins aren't too difficult to stop, its the ones that are rooted in my heart, in my brain...bitterness, jealousy, pride. How do you stop those?

Jesus let me know you more!!!

"This is Jesus in His glory, King of Heaven dying for me. It is finished He has done it. Death is beaten. Heaven beckons me."

Life and Peace

"the mind set on the spirit is life and peace..." Romans 8:6

life and peace. life and peace.
a world where life and peace reign; what would that look like?
life. no death. no decay. life.
vibrant. free.
life. wholeness. newness. life.
breath. essence.
life.
a world where life and peace reign; what would that look like?
peace. no hate. no want. peace.
tranquility. order.
peace. rest. security. peace.
unity. harmony.
peace.

Light and Life

I just read an email from some friends in Aman, Jordan. The Lord told them to go to Aman to be missionaries and to live among a people that seems to be so against the gospel. At the beginning of their journey they got discouraged often because of the difficult language training and the few people that they encountered. They left their homes, their way of life in America, to up and move to this foreign country and NOTHING was happening. Yet they remained hopeful that they were not there in vain and the Lord had a reason for sending them.

Now months later, the Lord is opening up opportunities to share the gospel with these traditionally Muslim people. There are definite seeds that have been planted. They get to practice their Arabic by reading the Bible to devout Muslims!!! The Lord moves in mysterious ways for sure.

Its amazing to me that the Lord puts people in specific places, at specific times, to touch the lives of specific people, whom he loves so dearly. I can barely think about it without tearing up. We have a Father who loves people, His people, SO much that he pursues them, and he uses US, the people in His Church, to speak truth and love to the hurting and broken.

People everyone need to know about Jesus. He lives in me and therefore I am a light, whether I like that fact or not, whether I feel like it or not. People who are slaves to sin and living life for themselves watch me, either consciously or subconsciously, because I have LIFE and I know the way to life.

It is so easy to think that my life is about ME. Or to become angry or upset because I am not in the place, physically, where I think I should be. Or that I would be more effective if only I lived here and was with X people group. The TRUTH is that Jesus has me where I am for a purpose! I am working the job I am for a purpose! I am on the path that is best for me because Jesus wants the best for me! There is someone in my life, even if just one person in my life, that Jesus wants to speak to. Will I really be so consumed with me that I lose the chance to be used by Jesus to change the eternity of someone else?

"You are a the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden..." Matthew 5:14

A New Perspective

Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Isreal, "My way is hidden from the Lord, And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard?

HERE IS YOUR GOD:

The Lord God will come with might with His arm ruling for Him.
Behold, His reward is with Him and His recompense before Him.
Like a shepherd He will tend His flock,
In His arm He will gather the lambs and carry them to His bosom;
He will gently lead the nursing ewes.

HERE IS YOUR GOD:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,
And marked off the heavens by the span
And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure,
And weighed the mountains in a balance
And the hills in a pair of scales?

HERE IS YOUR GOD:

Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,
Or as His counselor has informed Him?
With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding?



TO WHOM THEN WILL YOU LIKEN GOD??

DO YOU NOT KNOW? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD?


HERE IS YOUR GOD:

The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth DOES NOT become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.


He gives strength to the weary,
And to Him who lacks might He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,


Yet those who wait

Yet those who wait

wait

wait

those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;





They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.







Lift your eyes on high and see who created these stars.
Lift your eyes and see the Everlasting God, the Lord.


Why do you say, "My way is hidden from the Lord, and the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"?

Lift your eyes on high,
Lift your eyes,
Turn your gaze toward heaven,
See the Lord.

From Isaiah 40

Silence

As I sit here the noises of life surround me in my search for silence; cars passing by, children playing in the hall, the quiet hum of the air conditioner, and even the typing of the keyboard keys as I type. These noises are only external, a distraction for just a short while. Mostly these can be tuned out, but the noises in my mind reminding me of dirty dishes in the sink, conversations with friends from the night before, thoughts of dinner and sleep, of these I cannot escape. I am consumed by doing. I can blame this on our culture and how it has formed me to believe that the more I do, the more significant I am. But the reality is that in TRUE and ABSOLUTE silence, I am faced with me, with my doubts, with my failures, and with many questions. Yet the Lord calls me and says,




"Be STILL and know that I am God."

This is such a simple reminder, but when I know that HE is God, then somehow, my failures and shortcomings seem to disappear. He is above all things. My focus is shifted, and my perspective changed. There is hope in knowing that He is God; my life and I have meaning, the knowledge that I was created for a purpose becomes tangible, and the rhythm of my life changes. The reality that success is not in my hands but God's rings true and the healing that I need begins to take place there in the silence.