The Lord is my shepherd = that's relationship
I shall not want = thats's supply
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures = that's rest
He leadeth me beside still waters = that's refreshment
He restoreth my soul = that's healing
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness = that's guidance
For His name's sake = that's purpose
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death = that's testing
I will fear no evil = that's protection
For thou art with me = that's faithfulness
Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me = that's discipline
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies = that's hope
Thou annointest my head with oil = that's consecration
My cup runneth over = that's abundance
Surley goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life = that's blessing
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord = that's security
Forever = that's eternity
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Sunday, July 17, 2011
How Great is Our God
A friend of mine, Kayleigh, has been in the hospital for over a week now. Whenever I would pray, it would be for her, her parents, and her older brother: for them to have peace in whatever new situations arise and for her to ultimately be healed. I never really thought about her two younger siblings until tonight. Her little sister, Paige, is 8 1/2 years old, too young to understand, or so I thought. But she ran up to me and church tonight and I had the God given opportunity to just love on this little girl and give her some much desired attention and affection. As I was holding her in worship she started to tell me that her sister was in the hospital and they didn't know when they we're going to be home, but somewhere in the jumbled half conversation I had with this little girl, she said "but it's okay, God will take care of her". I did not really know what to say from that point, I nodded my head and smiled, and she proceeded to worship the God who was taking care of her sister.
Kids amaze me all the time, which is one of the reasons I love them so much. The way they look at the world, and troubles. They know that they have absolutely no control over situations, so they have total trust in the ones who do, in this case, God. I, as a seventeen year old girl, was pulling out my hair a few short days before in fear and worry over my best friend being sick and me not being able to 'be there for her'. I do not know what I thought I could do. I have no medical degree, I do not even know half the things that were going wrong and I would have no idea of where to even search the index of a medical book in order to diagnose anything. But even knowing that, I could not bring myself to stop worrying and just trust that God knows what His plan is and He does not need my help. But this 8 1/2 year old girl grasped that concept of trust that I could not even begin to understand.
I stood there holding Paige for a while longer while she and the rest of my youth ministry worshipped this wonderful God who I cannot even begin to comprehend. She was, singing, "How great is our God," admits the stress she was going through with her family and sister. It was such a blessing for me to be able to hold her and worship with her. Then later to hold her and try to comfort her when she was feeling weak because she missed Kay. And it was a blessing to see her brother fight back tears to tell her everything was going to be all right. By the end of the night, she was surrounded by teenagers and adults that were crazy impressed by her strength. Moreover, me, who was crazy impressed and humbled by her ability to understand and trust God, even in the middle of a storm.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Remember Me?
To a friend... And the child said:
Do you remember who i am?
we used to be so close...
i used to be the one
the one that you relied on
the one you told everything to
What changed in your life?
why'd you throw it all away?
you left me feeling worthless,
like i'm not enough,
like i couldn't keep you safe.
and maybe you were too far gone,
but i had hope and believed
that maybe if you let me in
life would get better...
but it was spoken, and i failed
i couldn't make it all okay
now i don't even know myself...
How could you remember me...
--
To HIS child... And HE said:
Do you remember who I am?
we used to be so close...
I used to be the one
The One that you relied on
The One you told everything to
What changed in your life?
why'd you throw it all away?
I know he left you feeling worthless
but I'm enough
I can keep you safe
and just know you're never too far gone
if you just hope and you believe
my love, if you just let Me in,
life would get better.
and I can't tell you that you'll never fall
but I'll let you know, without fail
that I'll catch you, I'll be with you
I'll let you know who you are.
You'll find yourself in Me.
I'm not the God of your past,
I still heal, Remember Me?
Do you remember who i am?
we used to be so close...
i used to be the one
the one that you relied on
the one you told everything to
What changed in your life?
why'd you throw it all away?
you left me feeling worthless,
like i'm not enough,
like i couldn't keep you safe.
and maybe you were too far gone,
but i had hope and believed
that maybe if you let me in
life would get better...
but it was spoken, and i failed
i couldn't make it all okay
now i don't even know myself...
How could you remember me...
--
To HIS child... And HE said:
Do you remember who I am?
we used to be so close...
I used to be the one
The One that you relied on
The One you told everything to
What changed in your life?
why'd you throw it all away?
I know he left you feeling worthless
but I'm enough
I can keep you safe
and just know you're never too far gone
if you just hope and you believe
my love, if you just let Me in,
life would get better.
and I can't tell you that you'll never fall
but I'll let you know, without fail
that I'll catch you, I'll be with you
I'll let you know who you are.
You'll find yourself in Me.
I'm not the God of your past,
I still heal, Remember Me?
Monday, February 28, 2011
Amazing.
...I find it amazing that just when I need it God intervenes and puts people in my world that say exactly what I need to hear.
I have felt the strong calling to be a missionary for about a year now but it seems like every time I bring it up it is shot down, people telling me it is impractical and I should get a "real job" first and other discouragements. And I have let them get to me. Secretly, I still have the passion to go into the mission field. But when people ask me what I want to do with my life, I usually just simply say teach now. Though that passion is still there, Satan has been really working on that and telling me that its not going to happen and I don't have money for bible college and I HAVE to go to bible college before I can be a missionary, and just that it will not happen for me and I should just become acceptant of my secular career in the future. It really hurts to give up that dream and it has gotten me pretty down and at a point where I had become almost complacent with God because I did not have faith in Him for my future anymore, I had believed the lies that He could not do it.
Anyways, what I was getting to. In sunday school, a man who was going to Botswana for God came to speak.. through him God just really spoke to me and told me that my passion and life will not be fulfilled without his ministry as a part of it. and though he will use me wherever I go, He has put a specific calling in my life to the people of other nations and that no matter what the cost, whether pride or popularity, or my life savings (which is $0 at this point) His plan will always be better then my own. And He will always provide for me when I have Faith in him.
He apologized at the end for going off on tangents.. but it was in those moments that we got to see his undisclosed passion for God and God got to speak through him most freely... It was pretty amazing and brought tears to my eyes. For the first time in a while i realized that God is good and faithful and His plans really are greater then my own, no matter what anyone says. If i follow His will, everything will turn out for His glory.
I have felt the strong calling to be a missionary for about a year now but it seems like every time I bring it up it is shot down, people telling me it is impractical and I should get a "real job" first and other discouragements. And I have let them get to me. Secretly, I still have the passion to go into the mission field. But when people ask me what I want to do with my life, I usually just simply say teach now. Though that passion is still there, Satan has been really working on that and telling me that its not going to happen and I don't have money for bible college and I HAVE to go to bible college before I can be a missionary, and just that it will not happen for me and I should just become acceptant of my secular career in the future. It really hurts to give up that dream and it has gotten me pretty down and at a point where I had become almost complacent with God because I did not have faith in Him for my future anymore, I had believed the lies that He could not do it.
Anyways, what I was getting to. In sunday school, a man who was going to Botswana for God came to speak.. through him God just really spoke to me and told me that my passion and life will not be fulfilled without his ministry as a part of it. and though he will use me wherever I go, He has put a specific calling in my life to the people of other nations and that no matter what the cost, whether pride or popularity, or my life savings (which is $0 at this point) His plan will always be better then my own. And He will always provide for me when I have Faith in him.
He apologized at the end for going off on tangents.. but it was in those moments that we got to see his undisclosed passion for God and God got to speak through him most freely... It was pretty amazing and brought tears to my eyes. For the first time in a while i realized that God is good and faithful and His plans really are greater then my own, no matter what anyone says. If i follow His will, everything will turn out for His glory.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
You are More.
P.S. God is awesome, like so very awesome, He orchestrates things so wonderfully that it amazes me.
This morning i woke up at 6:30am, to find my TV on a channel/show i had never heard of. It was called "UP TV", a channel for 2 hours of Christian Music. Soon after waking up, and not being able to go back to sleep (much to my dismay). Mike Donehe (lead of tenth avenue north) comes on the television and says these words, exactly what i needed to hear right at that moment, and then follows it with the song "You are more". I rewound and played it 3-4 times cause i was so amazed at how God could use a music video and commentary at 6:30am on a snow-day in January
--
Who you are isn't summed up by your choices
It's summed up by what Christ has done for you.
If we're in Christ, our choices don't define us...
We're defined by what Christ has done in our lives.
If we're in Christ, we're not struggling to be free,
we're free to struggle.
--
You can't live for God unless you learn how to live because of God
You can't make good choices for God unless you learn that your choices don't make you who you are.
--
Where we end up is not the Gospel
Who you are isn't what we do.. It's what is done for us.
--
You're more then your Successes
You're more then your Failures
You're more then your Choices
You're a sum of your Fathers Love.
This morning i woke up at 6:30am, to find my TV on a channel/show i had never heard of. It was called "UP TV", a channel for 2 hours of Christian Music. Soon after waking up, and not being able to go back to sleep (much to my dismay). Mike Donehe (lead of tenth avenue north) comes on the television and says these words, exactly what i needed to hear right at that moment, and then follows it with the song "You are more". I rewound and played it 3-4 times cause i was so amazed at how God could use a music video and commentary at 6:30am on a snow-day in January
--
Who you are isn't summed up by your choices
It's summed up by what Christ has done for you.
If we're in Christ, our choices don't define us...
We're defined by what Christ has done in our lives.
If we're in Christ, we're not struggling to be free,
we're free to struggle.
--
You can't live for God unless you learn how to live because of God
You can't make good choices for God unless you learn that your choices don't make you who you are.
--
Where we end up is not the Gospel
Who you are isn't what we do.. It's what is done for us.
--
You're more then your Successes
You're more then your Failures
You're more then your Choices
You're a sum of your Fathers Love.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
So you wanna change the world.
If I try to make a difference would it help anyway?
--
July 4, 2010
After this week...
I don't want you to remember me.
I don't need you to know my name,
my face,
my life.
I don't need a letter, a call, a note.
I only ask one thing of you as i go...
I want you to remember that
Jesus came
and shared a moment
Serving You.
--
I wrote this is my journal the third day i spent in Jamaica, along with a saying that I have made a personal goal to live out.
"You may be the only Jesus somebody ever sees"
This journal filled with snipbits of my life and things that ive heard that have touched my life and shaped my relationship with God. Things that have impacted my life, my world. Experiences that i don't think i could ever relate to anybody else, but they changed me. I wish that everybody in the world had a experience like this, a book almost completely filled with 5 months of life... falling apart but holding my life together.
--
I want to change the world. I want to not be afraid to stand up alone for what i believe in. No matter what the cost. "For God did not give us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind" 2 Timothy 1:7
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" 1 Timothy 4:12
God,
I want to have the courage of David, a boy so young, and yet so strong. Risking his life, his dignity, everything to stand up against the giants in his life for your Glory. God I know I will face giants in my life in the next few years, maybe even months. I've overcome some before God, you've been faithful to your word before, and you will be faithful again and i know that. Give me the serenity i need to trust in you. Give me wisdom to follow your path no matter the cost. God i want to change the world, but not for me, for you. If thats your calling for me, let it be God. Wherever you want to send me, give me the courage to say "Here I am Lord, Send me."
--
So you wanna change the world,
What are you waiting for?
Say you wanna start right now,
What are you waiting for?
It only takes one voice,
Common now and shout it out
Give a little more
What are you waiting for?
--
July 4, 2010
After this week...
I don't want you to remember me.
I don't need you to know my name,
my face,
my life.
I don't need a letter, a call, a note.
I only ask one thing of you as i go...
I want you to remember that
Jesus came
and shared a moment
Serving You.
--
I wrote this is my journal the third day i spent in Jamaica, along with a saying that I have made a personal goal to live out.
"You may be the only Jesus somebody ever sees"
This journal filled with snipbits of my life and things that ive heard that have touched my life and shaped my relationship with God. Things that have impacted my life, my world. Experiences that i don't think i could ever relate to anybody else, but they changed me. I wish that everybody in the world had a experience like this, a book almost completely filled with 5 months of life... falling apart but holding my life together.
--
I want to change the world. I want to not be afraid to stand up alone for what i believe in. No matter what the cost. "For God did not give us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind" 2 Timothy 1:7
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" 1 Timothy 4:12
God,
I want to have the courage of David, a boy so young, and yet so strong. Risking his life, his dignity, everything to stand up against the giants in his life for your Glory. God I know I will face giants in my life in the next few years, maybe even months. I've overcome some before God, you've been faithful to your word before, and you will be faithful again and i know that. Give me the serenity i need to trust in you. Give me wisdom to follow your path no matter the cost. God i want to change the world, but not for me, for you. If thats your calling for me, let it be God. Wherever you want to send me, give me the courage to say "Here I am Lord, Send me."
--
So you wanna change the world,
What are you waiting for?
Say you wanna start right now,
What are you waiting for?
It only takes one voice,
Common now and shout it out
Give a little more
What are you waiting for?
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Mothers Cries
an original poem
--
a man walks up
five stars on chest
envelope in hand
it's opened;
heard
"i'm sorry ma'am"
as the color left her head
"i promise ma,
i'll be home safe
but, keep me in your prayers"
his last words,
thought i asked you God
to keep him in Your care.
a flag procession
men in black
shots heard far and wide
his blood shed
his promise broken
to let his flag wave high
a purple ribbon
now adorned
atonement for his life
shown with pride
near stars and stripes
at cost of life
and mothers cries.
a man walks up
five stars on chest
envelope in hand
it's opened;
heard
"i'm sorry ma'am"
as the color left her head
"i promise ma,
i'll be home safe
but, keep me in your prayers"
his last words,
thought i asked you God
to keep him in Your care.
a flag procession
men in black
shots heard far and wide
his blood shed
his promise broken
to let his flag wave high
a purple ribbon
now adorned
atonement for his life
shown with pride
near stars and stripes
at cost of life
and mothers cries.
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