31 December 2011

Twenty-Four -by Switchfoot

Twenty four oceans
Twenty four skies
Twenty four failures
Twenty four tries
Twenty four finds me
In twenty-fourth place
Twenty four drop outs
At the end of the day
Life is not what I thought it was
Twenty four hours ago

Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And I'm not who I thought I was twenty four hours ago
Still I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You

Twenty four reasons to admit that I'm wrong

With all my excuses still twenty four strong

See I'm not copping out not copping out not copping out
When You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now

And You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
You're raising the dead in me
Oh, oh I am the second man
Oh, oh I am the second man now
Oh, oh I am the second man now
And You're raising the dead in me

I want to see miracles, see the world change
Wrestled the angel, for more than a name
For more than a feeling
For more than a cause
I'm singing Spirit take me up in arms with You
And You're raising the dead in me
Twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts.
I'm not copping out. Not copping out. Not copping out.


29 December 2011

Agape


English is so limiting sometimes.
I love how ancient Greek has four words for love, distinguishing between the different types.

Storge- Affection. Natural Love, like that of a parent for a child. The love within a family.

Eros-  A passionate, intimate love. Not a lasting one, usually, but a burning one.

Philia- Love between friends. it is a commitment, demanding loyalty, respect and friendship. It is a love of something good and enjoyable.

Agape- This, this is the hardest and best love. It is unconditional love, love that is sacrificial and deep and lasting. This is beyond Philia or Eros. This is the love that lasts through thick and thin. This is the word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 13. This is the word used to describe the Love of God to us.

Agape.  It is a hard word to live out.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant  or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  ( 1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

How many times have we heard these words read? At weddings, at church. We know them. But the word is Agape.
Suddenly it is different. These words apply not only to those we make an effort with, but to those we dislike. Those who have hurt us. Those who have not been consistent to us.

What a hard creed.
I say these words,  but can I live them?
Can I have Agape  to those who I dislike?Because the two don't work together.
I am struggling with that. How do you love the unlovable?  It is not easy to do.
I can love God ,who gave His life for me, with my whole heart. That is impossible not to do.  But because I love Him, there is this matter of Agape.
It, though, is the description of His love for us. He loved Me in the depths of my sin, in the blackness of my heart, and that is where he died for me, for us.
Agape.
It's a process.
Not an easy one. One that I fall in, mess up in, want to give up on sometimes. And yet he loves me anyway.

We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

If we, we who were loved in our unlovelyness, do not love the unlovable, who will? Who will Love them, be the physical demonstration of the love of Christ? We are the hands and feet of Jesus.
Agape.

Love:)

R

28 December 2011

Beautiful Things- Gungor

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all

All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us


All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us


Thank God that He dose indeed make us new.

Love:)

R

25 December 2011

For us, a light


For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder. And His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

22 December 2011

The Waiting

As we sit here, waiting, we wonder what we're waiting for.
The day draws nearer, and we anticipate, but the question remains.
Advent is the waiting time. What, really,  are we waiting for?
It's the miracle. We sit here in the hopeful expectancy, waiting for the miracle day to become full, the Miracle to be born, to become part of this dusty, grimy, beautiful world of ours.
The Baby, born two thousand years ago of a girl perhaps my own age, a scared teenage girl, and God. The Baby who was, is and always will be the greatest gift.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear

(from O come, O come, Emmanuel)

O come, o come, indeed. We are waiting. Waiting for the remembrance of the Word becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us.
There is beauty in the the waiting. We don't like to wait. We get impatient. But there is beauty in finding the peace to wait. He waited.
And then He came.
Came to us who were waiting. And showed up in all the grime of our earth. How in the world do we fail to see Him? We look right past the very thing we are waiting for! And yet He knew, and He still came. Still showed up, bloody and new into the stable.  Still took the sorrow of our sins upon him. Still walked our dusty roads, among us the sin-filled  people. Still died, covered in the blood that washed us clean.
 The waiting of this season is almost over. Look hard for Him. You will see Him in the most broken places. The dirty places. The messed up ones.  He will come. he always does. Only look.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.  (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”)  For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
(John 1:14-16)

We have seen His Glory.
Love:)

R

19 December 2011

I Celebrate the Day- Reliant K

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You've touched my life
Because here is where You're finding me, in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life



Christmas...... God coming to meet with man. Inconceivable. And yet not. Because that's how He does things:)

Love:)

R


A Prayer


The love.
It captures me, surrounds me, fills me.
And it is so good, Lord.
That you would look upon me in my brokenness, my dirtiness,
and bless me like you have.
And love me.
And know me.
Oh, My God, you truly make beautiful things,
And I love you.
Even if you didn't love me,
Still would I love you.
Because you are too good, too beautiful, too worthy,
to have anything but my love, heart, and everything else that is me.
Why me?
I have to ask myself why you could love me, love us, in our sin.
But it doesn't really matter,
All that does is you.

Love Always and  Forever:)

R

16 December 2011

No longer alone....

‘Advent, it becomes a time of self-examination.
Put the desires of your heart in order, O human beings!” as the old song sings….
God wants us to always be with us, wherever we may be — in our sin, in our suffering and death.
We are no longer alone; God is with us.
We are no longer homeless; a bit of the eternal home has moved into us.
Therefore we adults can rejoice deeply within our hearts under the Christmas tree, perhaps more than children are able….
We know that God’s goodness will once again draw near. We think of all of God’s goodness that came our way last year and sense something of the marvelous home. Jesus comes… “Behold I stand at the door …. Open wide the gates.” (Ps. 24:7). One day, at the last judgement, he will separate the sheep and the goats and will say to those on his right: “Come, you blessed… I was hungry and you fed me…. ” (Mt 25:34)
To the astonished question of when and where, he answered, “What you did to the least of these, you have done to me….” (Mt 25:40). With that we are faced with the shocking reality: Jesus stands at the door and knocks, in complete reality. He asks you for help in the form of a beggar, in the form of a ruined human being in torn clothing.
He confronts you in every person you meet.
Christ walks on the earth as your neighbor as long as there are people.
He walks on the earth as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you and makes His demands. That is the great seriousness and the great blessedness of the Advent message.
Christ stands at the door.
He lives in the form of the person in our midst.
Will you keep the door locked or open it to him?
Christ is still knocking.
It is not yet Christmas.
But it is also not the great final Advent, the final coming of Christ. Through all the Advents of our life that we celebrate goes the longing for the final Advent, where it says, “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rev. 21:15).
Advent is a time of waiting. Our whole life, however, is Advent….
That is, a time of waiting for the ultimate, for the time when there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
When all people are brothers and sisters.
And one rejoices in the words of the angels:
‘On earth, peace…' "

~Dietrich Bonhoeffer

How often do I forget that Christ, He does indeed walk on the Earth as my neighbor. That He confronts me in every person I meet.  The man with a sign outside of Costco, the people  wrapped in too thin sleeping bags under the overpass. The woman confined to her home because she can barely move anymore.  The girl with scars all over her arms and legs from trying to let the pain escape, the boy with teeth yellow from nicotine. These people, they don't have it all together. And yet Christ said,
Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,  I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.'
 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' Then he will answer them, saying, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. (Matthew 25: 34-40, 42-45)

The people he mentions are the ones so full of pain, so broken. They are where He confronts us, face to face.
 "What are you going to do? Because ignorance is no longer an option."
It isn't. Waiting, then, for it all to become new. But fighting, to help this broken world. That is what we are here for. That is what Christ, 2,000 years ago was here for.  We are no longer alone in this fight. The tiny baby ensured that. So we fight all the harder.

Love:)

R

14 December 2011

Joseph's Lullaby- MERCYME



Go to sleep my Son
This manger for your bed
You have a long road before You
Rest Your little head

Can You feel the weight of Your glory?
Do You understand the price?
Does the Father guard Your heart for now
So You can sleep tonight?

Go to sleep my Son
Go and chase Your dreams
This world can wait for one more moment
Go and sleep in peace

I believe the glory of Heaven
Is lying in my arms tonight

Lord, I ask that He for just this moment
Simply be my child

Go to sleep my Son
Baby, close Your eyes
Soon enough You'll save the day
But for now, dear Child of mine
Oh my Jesus, Sleep tight

11 December 2011

Our glory and Joy


 I had to use this picture even though it's only the third

week, because isn't this "wreath" cool?!

For you are our glory and our Joy.
(1 Thessalonians 2:20)

That is enough., this week of Joy. He is indeed. Amen, and amen, and amen.

Love:)

R

08 December 2011

How He loves us!

                                                               
I say something to my self about how I'm not good enough, or whatever, and He speaks. Every. Time.

Beautiful Girl. My beautiful girl. Don't say that. You are every bit good enough, pretty enough, able.  I created you, remember? You don't determine your worth. Others most certainly do not. I do. Why isn't that enough for you? You are covered in my blood, I loved you enough to die for you. That's how much you are worth to me. You are worth dying for.
You were worth dying for even when you were still buried beneath the deepest of your sin. Even then, I loved you. And held out my hand to you.

How could he love me? Me, with all my failings. I ask. He speaks.
Oh, my precious daughter, princess girl. You are the dearly loved daughter of me, your Abba and King. How can you say what you do about something I made? You would not ever, ever say it about anyone else. How can you say it about your self? Oh, my daughter. I love you. You are mine. Let me tell you until you finally hear it. No one, and nothing, will ever change how much I love you. I think you are enough. Precious girl.Brave girl. Strong girl. Beautiful girl. You are a work of art in progress. I'm not done with you yet!

"Because you are precious in my eyes,
   and honored, and I love you,
I give men in return for you,
   peoples in exchange for your life.
 Fear not, for I am with you.."

(Isiah 43:4-5a)


He's not just saying this to me. It's every bit as much to you, my friends. We all fall in to the trap. He offers this to us all. How many times do we forget?
Thankfully, he's patient, even when we are not. This is my God. This is your God. This is the King of the Universe. This is for you. Right here. Right now.  You can't be good enough by yourself- but he Loves you. ANd when you accept that, accept Him, you are His. And that will never change.


Love:)

R

07 December 2011

Because the whirlwind is always there

We wait.
And we pray.
The acceptance, it doesn't come easy.
But it comes.
Sometimes all we can ask is for peace and acceptance, whatever the circumstance. 
Peace in the waiting for it to get better.
I've been there this week. I know some of you are there too.
And it's getting better. It isn't what I wanted, but since when do we always get what we want?
It will be what I want, soon. Until then, I'm using this time to do other things.
Funny, isn't it, that the time of focusing on peace seems to always come at the time we most need it?
When we're in the midst of the whirlwind, this is when the peace is needed.

For to us a child is born,
   to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
   and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

 (Isaiah 9:6)

He is peace. So the rest in Him is where you will find it.  600 years before Him, Isaiah knew what man would always need. Because the whirlwind is always there.
But then, so is Peace.

Love:)

R

05 December 2011

What wonderous love is this - American folk hymn

What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul
, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
 
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down
Beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
 
To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb,
Who is the great I AM,
While millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
While millions join the theme, I will sing.

And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on;
And when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on.
And when from death I’m free
I’ll sing His love for me,
And through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
And through eternity I’ll sing on.


Indeed!

Love:)
R

04 December 2011

Waiting in peace



Today is the Peace candle, or Mary's candle.  I kind of want to focus on Mary, because its an amazing story.  Think about it.

 You're a girl, around 12, 13, 14, 15. Not very old. You're engaged to a man who may be ten, twenty, even thirty years older than you.  Suddenly, an angel appears, telling you that you will bear Messiah, who has been anticipated for centuries.
 "But, but how?" you stammer. "I'm a virgin." You're only engaged, not married, and here is someone telling you that you are going to have a baby.
And the angel answers you, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born  will be called holy— the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God." And you say, still in shock "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel leaves.
  Soon, you have to tell your parents that you are pregnant, but even worse, you have to tell Joseph, the man you are engaged to. You know it's not his baby. He knows. You both know what will happen if he presses charges. You will be stoned in the streets.  He chooses not to, but the pain in every ones eyes seems far worse than a stoning could ever be. You go away to visit Elizabeth for a few months, to allow the scandal to pass some. When you come back, though, everyone can tell you're pregnant. And then one day Joseph comes. He tells you of a dream, of seeing an angel,  of knowing that you carry Messiah. That very day he takes you home. Months pass, and the time of the birth draws near. You hear of the census, and decide to accompany Joseph to Bethlehem, much to your mothers chagrin. While you are there, the baby decides to make an early appearance. Everything is different, and you have the baby not at home with a midwife, but in a barn with a nervous husband.  You know that this birth, this birth will change the world. And so you smile at your newborn son, and at your much relived husband.

Could you imagine?  Somehow, somehow, she accepted the dramatic change to the life she had planned. And a world was changed.

This Advent, remember that God's plans aren't always yours. But they are always good. I pray that you can find peace in whatever turns your life takes. I pray that as you wait upon God, you have peace, even if what you wait for takes time. Sometimes it's not about the end, but about how you get there. Peace, then for that journey.


Love:)
R

01 December 2011

umm..

Hi,
So I normally don't like to ask for prayer for me, but I had a huge asthma attack yesterday, and am still feeling the after effects. :) I'm much better now, thanks to some serious meds, but prayer would be appreciated.

Love:)
R

30 November 2011

God is good

My God is amazing! He truely is. He keeps me from freeking out, and yet he created the stars! He calls me His friend, and yet he sees me at my worst:) He loves me, despite who I am. 

Love:)
R

28 November 2011

O come, O come, Emmanuel- Latin hymn

 O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appears

Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, O come, Thou Dayspring bright
Pour on our souls Thy healing light
Dispel the long night's lingering gloom
And pierce the shadows of the tomb

Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, desire of nations
bind
In one the hearts of all mankind
Bid every strife and quarrels cease
And fill the world with Heaven's peace

Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee
Rejoice, rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee
O Israel


My favorite. carol. ever.

Love:)
R

50!!!!!

Wow, it's amazing that this is my 50th post! I've been blogging for about 4 months.

Love:)
R

Psalm 32:22


Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
   even as we hope in you.
Psalm 32:22

Love:)
R

27 November 2011

Waiting in Hope



Advent. A time of waiting before Christmas, four Sundays of waiting.
 Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, traditionally the prophet, or hope candle on the Advent wreath. Really, though, it is the same thing. The prophets fortold Messiah, speaking to a peple who had nothing else to hold onto. They gave hope to a naton that God was not dead, they had not been forgotten. Messsiah was comming.

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
   who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
   one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
   from ancient days.
Therefore he shall give them up until the time
   when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
   to the people of Israel.
And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD,
   in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
   to the ends of the earth.
And he shall be their peace.

(Micha 5:2-5)

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
(Jeremiah 23:5)

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
   Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
   righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
   on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
(Zechariah 9:9)


These men had a calling from God to say what He told them, and part of what he told them was that a Savior was coming.

So Israel waited, as we now wait through Advent, for the coming of One who would save them. Six hundred years, they waited. And hoped.

As we wait for the celebration of the birth of Messiah, what is your hope this advent? Is it in Jesus the Christ, born 2,000 years ago? Are you hoping in Him, trusting that He will fulfill His promise? That is a challenge for this season. Put your hope in Him, Him who is and was and always will be our hope.

Love:)
R

21 November 2011

sonnet 116- shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds
,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come:
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
  

If this be error and upon me proved,
   I never writ, nor no man ever loved.



What words!

Love:)

R

18 November 2011

The Fool's Prayer by Edward Sill



            THE royal feast was done; the King
             Sought some new sport to banish care,
            And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
            Kneel now, and make for us a prayer!"
       
      The jester doffed his cap and bells,
      And stood the mocking court before;
      They could not see the bitter smile
      Behind the painted grin he wore.
       
      He bowed his head, and bent his knee
      Upon the Monarch's silken stool;
      His pleading voice arose: "O Lord,
      Be merciful to me, a fool!
       
      "No pity, Lord, could change the heart
      From red with wrong to white as wool;
      The rod must heal the sin: but Lord,
      Be merciful to me, a fool!
       
      "'T is not by guilt the onward sweep
      Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
      'T is by our follies that so long
      We hold the earth from heaven away.
       
      "These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
      Go crushing blossoms without end;
      These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
      Among the heart-strings of a friend.
       
      "The ill-timed truth we might have kept--
      Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
      The word we had not sense to say--
      Who knows how grandly it had rung!
       
      "Our faults no tenderness should ask.
      The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
      But for our blunders -- oh, in shame
      Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
       
      "Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
      Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
      That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
      Be merciful to me, a fool!"
       
      The room was hushed; in silence rose
      The King, and sought his gardens cool,
      And walked apart, and murmured low,
      "Be merciful to me, a fool!"

17 November 2011

For this is the whole duty of man.....

On the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I've arrived
In a world where I belong
Where I belong

 (From Where I Belong by Switchfoot)

In my small group the other day we got asked what we wanted people to remember about us, what impression we wanted to leave when we died, ,what we wanted remembered as the purpose of our life. A very good question.
 I love how Switchfoot puts it.
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

What, though, does God say our purpose is? Why are we put on this messed-up earth?

The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. (Ecclesiastes 12:13)

I think that just about sums it up. We are here to worship and glorify God, and whether we do that by impacting thousands like Mother Teresa, or living in a hospital room, that is our duty. Martin Luther King once said:

 "And when you discover what you will be in your life, set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it. don't just set out to do a good job. Set out to do such a good job that the living, the dead or the unborn couldn't do it any better.

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. "


See, here's the thing. God Almighty did call you to this particular moment in history, put you here to do what He wanted you to do. So fear God and keep His commands in whatever you do .....If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry....
 Worship God in how you live your life. In doing everything, whether it is helping at a soup kitchen or doing your geometry homework.

 Fulfill your purpose, so that when people remember you they will say
  "She had a purpose in life, and she wasn't afraid to fulfill it."  So if you become a street sweeper, they will say "Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well. "

Live your life. You were created with a purpose for this time, and this place. it is up to you whether or not you step up to the challenge of having a purpose and a meaning in life. I hope you chose to step up.  So let me ask you.  What do you want remembered as the purpose of your life? I hope you can live it like a song.

Love:)
R

15 November 2011

Your love is deep -Jami Smith

Your love is deep,
Your love is high
Your love is long,
 Your love is wide

Your love is deep,
Your love is high
Your love is long,
 Your love is wide

Your love is deeper than my view of grace
Higher than this worldly place
Longer than this road I've traveled
Wider than the gap You've filled

And Your love is deep,
Your love is high
Your love is long,
 Your love is wide

This is the depth, height, length and width of His perfect love.

Love:)
R

12 November 2011

Psalm 16



Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord;
    I have no good apart from you
."
 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
   in whom is all my delight
The sorrows of those who run afteranother god shall multiply;
   their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
   or take their names on my lips.
 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
   you hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
 I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
   in the night also my heart instructs me
I have set the LORD always before me;
   because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
   my flesh also dwells secure.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
    or let your holy one see corruption.
 You make known to me the path of life;
   in your presence there is fullness of joy;   at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.


Happiness is temporary. Joy is a lasting choice. Will you chose joy today?

Love:)
R

10 November 2011

When you don't have words......

What to say to a friend to convince her that you don't have it all together?
 That but for the Grace of God you'd be in the same place she is?
  That you're a mess, but being worked on?
  That you can be insecure too?
 That words can hurt you just as much?
 What to say to her, an unbeliever, when she asks in tears, "why me?"
  How do I show her hope that is for her?
 Thoughts?

Love:)
R

07 November 2011

This crazy peace

 This world is broken.
 So am I.
  And its okay.
  Really.
 Why?
This crazy peace from the Master of the Universe. 
 I'm seeing some friends worlds slowly shatter in to a million pieces, and other friends standing and staring at the pieces fallen around them.
 Why, God? Why them?
I'm standing, asking, screaming this question to Him.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. (Ecclesiastes 3:11a)
This is what I hear. It's not an easy truth. I want immediate answers. I want the Why right away.
But I am not God. I don't see all the reasons why He isn't doing something right now. But I trust that it will become beautiful in its time. That is His promise.
 So my prayer for you right now is simply peace in the waiting. Peace in the waiting for it to become beautiful. Peace in this dry time for you.
 I'm asking. I hope you receive it.

                                      
Love:)
R

05 November 2011

Looking for angels - Skillet


Going through this life looking for Angels
People passing by, looking for Angels.

Walk this world alone try to stay on my feet

Sometimes crawl, fall, but I stand up cause I'm afraid to sleep
And open my eyes to a new day, with all new problems and all new pain
All the faces are filled with so much anger
Losing our dignity and hope from fear of dangerAfter all the wars, after settling the scores, at the break of dawn we will be deaf to the answers

There's so much bigotry, misunderstanding and fear
With eyes squinted and fists clinched we reach out for what is dear
We want it we want
We want a reason to liveWe're on a pilgrimage
A crusade for hope
Cause in our hearts and minds and souls we know

We need it we need
We need more than this
Going through this life looking for angels
People passing by looking for angels
Walking down the streets looking for angels
Everyone I meet looking for angels

So many nations with so many hungry people
So many homeless scrounging around for dirty needles
On the rise, teen suicide, when we will realize
we've been desensitized by the lies of the world
We're oppressed and impressed by the greedy
Whose hands squeeze the life out of the needy
When will we learn that wars, threats, and regrets are the cause and effect of living in fearWho can help protect the innocence of our children
Stolen on the internet with images they can't forgetWe want it we want
We want a reason to live
We represent a generation that wants to turn back a nation
To let love be our light and salvation
We need it we need
We need more than this


I became a savior to some kids I'll never meet
Sent a check in the mail to buy them something to eat
What will you do to make a difference, to make a change?

What will you do to help someone along the way?
Just a touch, a smile as you turn the other cheek
Pray for your enemies, humble yourself, love's staring back at me
In the midst of the most painful faces
Angels show up in the strangest of places

Walking down the streets looking for angels
Everyone I meet looking for angels

We have a reason to live. Can you say that for all your friends?

Love:)
R

01 November 2011

Simply worship

 I've also concluded that whatever God does, that's the way it's going to be, always. No addition, no subtraction. God's done it and that's it. That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
  Whatever was, is.
   Whatever will be, is.
   That's how it always is with God.

Eclesiastes 3:14-15 (MSG)

That's so we'll quit asking questions and simply worship in holy fear.
Words written for me. Me who wants to know it all, to have all the details. Me who wants to have it all together and know what's coming. That's not what I need.
Worship in holy fear is.
No questions. Just worship.
Hard for this first-born perfectionist of a girl.
Hard but good.
Whatever was, is.
   Whatever will be, is.
   That's how it always is with God
.
God the I am. God who is  present.

Love:)

R

31 October 2011

27 October 2011

My grace is sufficient

It's not the trust that's hard..........it's the acceptance. I hate not feeling good enough, not able. But isn't His power made perfect in weakness? So often, I forget. I get frustrated, and just want to be done with it.

                           
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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Okay. 
 But it's hard. It certainly isn't easy. We want to be whole, to be perfect, to be strong. Invincible, if you will. But then Paul says For when I am weak, then I am strong. When I am weak.........
  I trust more.
  I talk to Him more.
  I realize how truly blessed I am.
  My Friends, I hope that you come to realize, as I slowly am, that you are living the life He planned for you. He choose you to face your life, messed up as you are, because He knew you could do it. Every experience is refining you into the beautiful person you are. 
   He allowed you to face these storms.  He knew you could stand against their winds. He cries with you, holding each tear in the palm of His hand. He is waiting with open arms to allow you to come cry on His chest, and  when you do, He will hold you. And then  he will take that burden that's about to pull you under, and put it upon Himself.

 Acceptance. It's okay not to be perfect.
 He is.
You aren't.
For the sake of Christ, then, I am content ....
I hope you are.

Love:)
R

23 October 2011

Psalm 63

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped. (Psalm 63:1-11 ESV)

20 October 2011

Beauty: Redifined

The lie.
The lie is huge.
"You aren't beautiful. You are too fat, too skinny. Too tall, too short." On and on and on.The voices surround you........and you listen. I do. I do, and I shouldn't.

I'm not going to tell you that it doesn't matter. Because you won't listen. And, besides, it's not okay to tell you that it's okay that you're not good enough. Beacuse you are good enough!
   Our culture has this idea of beauty. We define beauty in a certain way, and we have this mental checklist that we go through, trying to check it all off.
  Here's the thing. You can't measure up. No matter how hard you try, as long as you're going through this checklist, you'll never make it. No one will.
 Here's what I'm going to ask you to do.

Redefine your idea of beauty.

Because, see, beauty is relative. Our definition and ideas of beauty are dependent on outside ideas of culture and time and place.
 Here's what I'm saying. God made you beautiful. Weather or not you fit your specific cultures definition of beauty, it doesn't matter to Him.  His definition of beauty is way different than yours . He looks at you living a life honoring to Him, and sees beauty. He looks at the way you serve. Who you are.

How beautiful upon the mountains
   are the feet of him who brings good news,
who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,
   who publishes salvation,
   who says to Zion, "Your God reigns
." (Isaiah 52:7)

  This person probably doesn't have pedicure-model feet. But their feet are beautiful because they are fulfilling the purpose the were made for. They are consistent with the design of their creator.
 That is what makes them beautiful.

When you fulfill your purpose, that is beautiful.

Not only that- you are beautiful inside and out because you are created in the image of the Living God. You are created to be like Him- you are beautiful because you are His handiwork! No one denys the beauty of natural wonders such as the Grand Canyon, or Mount Everest- but you are far morr important to God! Far more Loved. You are so beautiful! You are the beautiful workmanship of your God.
 When you're tempted to believe the lie this week, remember who you are.


Love:)
R

Ps: If you want more on this topictalk to me,or  read Uncompromising, by Hannah Farver. She is an amazing young women who is truly in love with her Savior.  Look it up! :) R

18 October 2011

Psalm 46

 God is our refuge and strength,
   a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
   though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
   though the mountains tremble at its swelling.
          Selah
 here is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy habitation of the Most High.
 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
   God will help her when morning dawns.The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
   he utters his voice, the earth melts.
 The LORD of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.    Selah
  Come, behold the works of the LORD,
   how he has brought desolations on the earth.
 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
   he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
"Be still, and know that I am God.    I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth!"
 The LORD of hosts is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.
                         Selah

16 October 2011

today....

  Today........Know that I am praying for you all. And that I care. And If you ever need to talk to someone, just call me or e-mail me or something. It's not silly. I'd love to know how to better stand before our Wonderful, Glorious God for you. Please........... Trust me?

Love:)
R

Ecclesiastes 3


1For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
 2a time to be born, and a time to die;a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 3a time to kill, and a time to heal;a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4a time to weep, and a time to laugh;a time to mourn, and a time to dance; 5a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6a time to seek, and a time to lose;a time to keep, and a time to cast away; 7a time to tear, and a time to sew;a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; 8a time to love, and a time to hate;a time for war, and a time for peace.  9What gain has the worker from his toil? 10I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.

 14I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.[a]
 16Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18I said in my heart with regard to the children of man that God is testing them that they may see that they themselves are but beasts. 19 For what happens to the children of man and what happens to the beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts, for all is vanity. 20All go to one place. All are from the dust, and to dust all return. 21Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth? 22So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his work, for that is his lot. Who can bring him to see what will be after him?