a weekend away!

I'm so excited because I'm heading out with some friends this afternoon for the Women's Prayer & Evangelism Conference in Ridgecrest, NC.  Aahh...it's a beautiful day here so I can't wait to head toward the mountains!

In honor of my trip, I thought I would just share with you my thoughts when I came back from this same conference two years ago. The following was originally posted on September 13, 2008, entitled An Endless List. 

Have a great weekend!

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I just got back from an amazing weekend at the Women's Prayer & Evangelism Conference. God is so good and I was able to hear from some gifted women who have encouraged me to renew my personal prayer life in fresh ways. So...when I got home tonight, eager to begin with my new prayer journal, I wanted to begin with praise, preparing my journal for exciting reminders of who God is. God quickly gave me the idea of pulling out magazines I had around the house and starting on a "collage" of words that portray names and descriptions of who He is. As I turned the pages again and again, it was not difficult to cut out an abundance of words that describe our Heavenly Father. 

The reason this was easy, however, was because advertisements use so many descriptions to describe their products that are actually words meant to describe the One True God. I was convicted again. How many times am I sold on products to make me better, prettier, etc., things that can easily become idols in my life? Ask God to reveal to you what people or things have taken His place. What words do you use to describe insignificant things that should maybe be reserved for worshipping Him alone? Believer, be renewed today in your definition of who God is. If you have yet to know a relationship with God, read the following list, knowing that God wants to become these qualities in your life! The capitalized words are the ones I found (in just 3 secular magazines) to just begin to describe God. Let me know what names God has given you lately. How has He revealed Himself to you?

God is....

the PERFECTOR of our faith
standing with ARMS WIDE OPEN
PERSONAL
longing to be your DAD
our ROCK
saying "I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND"
LIFE
waiting to be your EVERYTHING
CLOSE to you at all times
JOYFUL as He sings over you
still in the work of SAVING those who are lost
FLAWLESS
longing to SATISFY your every desire
AVAILABLE to CALM every stress, every fear, every worry
waiting for you to see his VISION
THE KEY to ETERNITY
the ONLY true answer
MASTER
the FREEDOM you are longing for
MORE than you can ever imagine
I AM
EVERYWHERE, watching and listening 24 HOURS, 7 days a week, and he NEVER SLEEPS
WATER to our thirsty, dry bones
STRONGER than our strongest moment
a JUST God, DIVINELY ruling His creation, and always RIGHT
waiting for you to COME AS YOU ARE
coveting a RELATIONSHIP with you
LORD over all
the only One who truly RADIATES WARMTH
to be TREASURED greatly
THE ONE, THE ONLY
still doing works BEYOND our comprehension
POWERFUL
wanting to speak to you through His LOVE LETTER
AGELESS
our SOLUTION
in CONTROL
ULTIMATE
our GUIDE
ready to COMMUNICATE in a PERSONAL way with you DAILY
BEAUTIFUL
the One who CHANGES EVERYTHING
STRENGTHENING
a God of HARMONY
offering you REST
RESTORATIVE
wanting to be your CLOSEST FRIEND
able to claim VICTORY in your life
LORD
a SHINING light
your ROCK
FULL of AMAZING grace
asking you to seek His HIDDEN mysteries
calling you to TRUST in Him
HIGHLY exalted, the ROYAL king
wanting to be our FOUNDATION
FABULOUS
able to TRANSFORM our biggest messes
ready for you to celebrate His GOODNESS
MIGHTY
wanting to be your BEST FRIEND
a healing DOCTOR
PERFECT
offering you a FREE GIFT of his Son
one of whom we stand in WONDER
BEAUTIFUL, beyond description
in CONTROL!

(...And here's a picture of it all that I didn't add last time!)

Pray these descriptions of God this week. Stand in awe of who He is and ask for His strength to stay pure in a world that wants us to use these words to describe temporary things. He has a PLAN for you and wants to make Himself CLEAR to you as you seek His face. He will indeed show Himself to be WIDER and more PERFECT than we can even begin to COMPREHEND. Praise God for He is limitless!

musical monday

Yesterday at church as we sang Jesus Messiah, I was overwhelmed (again) with the fullness of the song.  It's another great song that Chris Tomlin wrote and it points you straight to the power of the cross and the tremendous debt Christ paid for our sin.  This song is one of my favorites, drawing me into a deeper worship.
  
The lyrics are below, in bold, with my own expansion of the words in parenthesis.  May this song lead you in to worship today.  Not sure what or how to worship?  Check out a recap of our pastor's Worship Made Simple message below the song.

He (Christ) became sin (belonging to this world)
Who knew no (not in any degree or manner) sin 
That we might (have a chance to) become His 
Righteousness (declared innocent and guiltless)
He humbled (lowered in condition, importance, or dignity)
himself and carried (bore the weight, burden of) the cross 

Love (being patient, kind, and not envious or proud) so
amazing (overwhelming)
Love (not behaving rudely or seeking its own) so (very) 
amazing (astonishing)

Chorus: 

Jesus (Son of God) Messiah (promised Deliverer)
Name (renown) above all names 
Blessed (worthy of adoration) Redeemer (Restorer)
Emmanuel (God with us)
The rescue (liberator) for sinners (evildoers)
The ransom (redeemer) from Heaven 
Jesus Messiah (expected Savior)
Lord (Master) of all (everything)

His body (substance) the bread (sustenance)
His blood (vitality) the wine (drink offering)
Broken (crushed) and poured out (flowed forth) 
all for (with the object or purpose of) 
love (not being provoked or seeking any evil)
The whole earth (not heaven) trembled (shook from fear)
And the veil (something that covers, separates, screens, 
or conceals) was torn (permanently divided)

Love (rejoicing in the truth and bearing all thing) so amazing
Love (hoping, enduring, and never failing...is God) 
so amazing (awe-inspiring), yeah (yes!)

Jesus (the Christ) Messiah (anticipated Redeemer) 
Name above (higher in rank, authority, or power) all names 
Blessed (Holy) Redeemer (Savior)
Emmanuel (Jesus)
The rescue (Redeemer) for sinners (you and me)
The ransom (the sum or price paid or demanded) 
from Heaven (perfection)
Jesus (God) Messiah (expected Liberator of a captive people)
Lord (King) of all (each of us)

All (every) our hope (confident expectation) is in You (Savior)
All (the sum total of) our hope (trust) is in (founded in) You 
All the glory (adoration, praise, worship) to You, (the one true) God 
The light (source of illumination) of (found in) the world (darkness)


Worship Made Simple (John 4:20-24)


1. Worship is DIRECTED to the Father 
There is only one God and he is the object of our worship.


2. Worship is DESIGNED for any location 
If you are a Christian, then you are a sanctuary for worship!


3. Worship is DISCOVERED through Jesus Christ 
You need a relationship with Christ, then he enables you to worship.


Any questions?  Feel free to e-mail me!

Musical Monday

Last week I helped Justin lead the music for a secretary's conference.  He asked me to sing the song "Our Hope Endures" by Natalie Grant.    I personally have not endured tragedy in my life, but I definitely know others who have and remain hopeful and joyful in the Lord in the midst of difficult circumstances. 

I love the lyrics in this song, bringing words to the questions we so often have.  But this song ultimately points us to hope in God by reminding us of His attributes.  Emmanuel - God is with us.  El Shaddai - All Sufficient.  In order to not be overwhelmed and undone by unexplained difficulties we face, we have to focus on God and who He is.  When we truly see God for who He is, we are ultimately reminded of who we are.  Sinful, broken, but overwhelmingly loved by a God who sent His Son to die for us.  Without a loving Savior to look to, our situation would be too much to endure.  I pray that your hope will endure...through whatever you are facing or will face.

OUR HOPE ENDURES
You would think only so much can go wrong
Calamity only strikes once
And you assume that this one has suffered her share
Life will be kinder from here

Sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

How do we comprehend peace within pain
Our joy at a good man's wake
Walk a mile with a woman whose body is torn
With illness but she marches on

Sometimes the sun stays hidden for years
Sometimes the sky rains night after night
When will it clear

But our Hope endures the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
Let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

Emmanuel, God is with us
El Shaddai, all sufficient

We never walk alone
This is our hope

Our Hope endures, the worst of conditions
It's more than our optimism
let the earth quake
Our Hope is unchanged

"This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.  'The Lord is my portion.' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'"  Lamentations 3:21-24

Cry It Out

Elijah is my sweet baby boy and only 8 months old, but a lot of training has already been going on in his life.  Actually, since about his second week of life, because I chose to take a parent-led approach to raising him, based on the Baby Wise series of books.  After seeing other moms implement this approach with their children, I was sold, and can see the Biblical implications of such training.  (Please visit this blog to learn all you could possibly want to know about the Baby Wise approach!)

No matter what your philosophy of child-rearing, I hope you will read this post with an open mind.  Even with an 8 month old, I have already learned so much more about God from the opportunity he has given me to be a parent.  My goodness - the love I have for that tiny baby boy is almost more than I can handle some days and just puts me in awe of our Creator who loves me so much more than I can imagine. 

A part of the Baby Wise approach is establishing a good sleeping pattern for your child, which can involve allowing your child to cry it out sometimes while training them.  (This is where I may lose some of you...but please hang in there!)  In the beginning of our sleep training with Elijah, there were nights when I knew he wasn't hungry, he didn't need changed and was just waking up out of habit.  This was when I knew I was going to have to lead him as a parent.  It wasn't easy, but I had to let him cry it out some nights until he could learn to put himself to sleep.  I wanted to "start as I meant to go on" (which I've either read from Baby Wise or the Baby Whisperer), meaning that I did not want to have a 6 month old that needed rocking/a pacifier/a bottle getting him back to sleep. 

By the time Elijah was about 10 weeks old, he was sleeping 8 hours at night.  Now he sleeps 11 hours at night, consistently.  He is happy with our routine and knows what to expect each day.  We eat, play, and sleep in that order!  It also keeps me sane...knowing what to expect as a framework for the day.  (Check out a Baby Wise book if you want to know more). 

I tell you all this (even though I know it can be controversial) because of a great way this has illustrated God's love in an even bigger way to me. 

On the nights that I would stand right outside of Elijah's room, wanting so badly to intervene and pick him up, I had to keep reminding myself of the ultimate goal: good sleep!  In the big picture, I wanted Elijah to sleep well and transition through sleep cycles on his own so that he could get the best sleep.  On those nights, it seemed so crazy to hear his cries and not respond, so I had to rely on the Lord for strength.  In those moments, He showed me that He is always right there listening to my cries when things aren't going the way I want them to or something has hurt me so badly.  In my view of things, it seems crazy sometimes that God can't just fix things to be "good" for me right then.  But God has the big picture.  He knows what I need and knows what is for my greater good and His glory.  God's sovereignty is so hard to wrap my brain around, but I'm so thankful that He is in control.  I am calmed by that realization, not offended by it. 

Are there areas of your relationship with God that have been hurt by questioning why He didn't come pick you up when you were crying?  Confess those to Him today.  He already knows your pain and knows what is best for your growth, to lead you closer to Him.  Allow God to do the work that He wants to do in your life - to bring you to the ultimate goal He has for you. 

Psalm 56:8 says, "You have kept count of my tossings, put my tears in your bottle."  What a good God He is to care about even the tiniest aspects of our lives.  He knows about every tear we shed!

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for wholeness and not evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Don't allow Satan to challenge this truth in your life.  Read Romans 8:28 and rest in a God who loves you so much and has a specific plan for your good and His glory!

What are some ways God has revealed a greater understanding of Himself to you through your children?