I'm pretty sure I've quoted these verses on my blog before, but they've been on my mind again tonight as I consider, 'Who am I?" and think about the many, many things I do not know or understand, and the tasks I am called to that I don't feel equipped to do. This verses remind me that it's not about me and how equipped I feel, it's not about what I have to offer God, it's what He has offered me by His grace. It's about His power, which is made perfect in my weakness.
'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. 10 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.' 1 Corinthians 12:8-10
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
He's always been faithful
I'm just joining the music team in our church, and learning some new songs. This was on one of our CDs and I love the words especially, decided I would love it to be my life's theme song. Hope it encourages you.
Whatever you're going through, know that God is faithful. Read the countless stories of people in the Bible who have seen and experienced His faithfulness, get to know others who've seen it too. Record the times He's been faithful to you, so when times are tough you can look back and say with confidence, yet God is faithful.
He's always been faithful by Sara Groves
Morning by morning I wake up to find
the power and comfort of God's hand in mine.
Season by season I watch him amazed, in
awe of the mystery of his perfect ways
CHORUS:
All I have need of his hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me
I can't remember a trial or a pain he did
not recycle to bring me gain. I can't
remember one single regret in serving
God only and trusting his hand
This is my anthem, this is my song, the
theme of the stories I've heard for so long.
God has been faithful, he will be again.
His loving compassion, it knows no end.
Whatever you're going through, know that God is faithful. Read the countless stories of people in the Bible who have seen and experienced His faithfulness, get to know others who've seen it too. Record the times He's been faithful to you, so when times are tough you can look back and say with confidence, yet God is faithful.
He's always been faithful by Sara Groves
Morning by morning I wake up to find
the power and comfort of God's hand in mine.
Season by season I watch him amazed, in
awe of the mystery of his perfect ways
CHORUS:
All I have need of his hand will provide.
He's always been faithful to me
I can't remember a trial or a pain he did
not recycle to bring me gain. I can't
remember one single regret in serving
God only and trusting his hand
This is my anthem, this is my song, the
theme of the stories I've heard for so long.
God has been faithful, he will be again.
His loving compassion, it knows no end.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A process
A friend read this passage to me this afternoon from Romans 5:1-4, and talked about the 'process' of growth that each of us go through and how God uses our suffering to shape us into the people He wants us to be.
'...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.'
On my way home I heard a song that's often playing on 103.2, 'Break My Heart' by Jonny Diaz. The words that are often ringing through my head: 'Let me see through the eyes of the hurting, come break my heart... true grace sees a face not a burden, come break my heart, Lord, break my heart.' It's one of those songs that reminds me of an older pastor in our church who often challenged us about the words we were singing, I can imagine him saying, 'Dangerous words!! Are we really ready for God to break our hearts?!'
I want to be a person who God uses to reach out to others with His love, but I get in the way. Little old me, focusing on my own pain, instead of on Jesus.
'...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.'
On my way home I heard a song that's often playing on 103.2, 'Break My Heart' by Jonny Diaz. The words that are often ringing through my head: 'Let me see through the eyes of the hurting, come break my heart... true grace sees a face not a burden, come break my heart, Lord, break my heart.' It's one of those songs that reminds me of an older pastor in our church who often challenged us about the words we were singing, I can imagine him saying, 'Dangerous words!! Are we really ready for God to break our hearts?!'
I want to be a person who God uses to reach out to others with His love, but I get in the way. Little old me, focusing on my own pain, instead of on Jesus.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Delight
Been thinking tonight about that verse that talks about delighting in God. It's so easy to get distracted and to put our hope in other things. Searched Bible Gateway to find the verse (Psalm 37:4), and came across lots of other verses that talk about 'delight', but surprisingly (to me anyway) often in reference to the way God relates to us, rather than only the other way around.
This one in particular stood out to me in the context of a question Sarah asked today, 'Why does God love us?'. It still baffles me that the God who created this universe would 'delight' in us, that He would send His only Son into our world - though a King (the King of Kings), born in a lowly stable and laid in a manger - and that His Son would take our place, my place, on the cross, and pay the price for my sin, all those times I go my own way instead of God's.
Despite our sin, because of Jesus, He delights in us. Oh to delight in Him!
Psalm 147:11 'The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.'
This one in particular stood out to me in the context of a question Sarah asked today, 'Why does God love us?'. It still baffles me that the God who created this universe would 'delight' in us, that He would send His only Son into our world - though a King (the King of Kings), born in a lowly stable and laid in a manger - and that His Son would take our place, my place, on the cross, and pay the price for my sin, all those times I go my own way instead of God's.
Despite our sin, because of Jesus, He delights in us. Oh to delight in Him!
Psalm 147:11 'The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.'
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Decisions, decisions
Why are there so many decisions to make in life? Especially as a Mum. There are just so many considerations. Sometimes it's a little overwhelming.
I've really been struggling with the whole discipline thing, and spoke to my pastor and his wife a little while back, along with friends. A friend gave me a book, 'Don't Make Me Count to Three' which I started reading ages ago, but don't think I ever finished and didn't really have the energy to read before (sounds terrible I know). But recently I found it again and thought it'd be a good time to read it. Found it quite helpful to think through different issues, but I guess the biggest part I took away was coming back to what the Bible says, particularly in Ephesians 6. It tells children to obey your parents and honour your father and mother. I worry that my decisions may not always be the best, and whether it's fair for my children to have to 'obey' me. But I guess I have to realise that God has put me in this role, and He promises to give me His strength if I submit to Him. It's just so hard at times.
This afternoon I read a blog post from Bob Kauflin who recently visited our church and he highlighted the importance of coming back to the Bible as we think about how our churches should operate, in particular in terms of worship and music. He suggested it's easy to get distracted by what other people do or don't do and our opinions about that, rather than coming straight to God's Word and getting our views directly from there. Made me think how often we do the same with discipline.
Phew. Sometimes life is heavy. Sometimes I wish there weren't so many decisions I had to make.
I've really been struggling with the whole discipline thing, and spoke to my pastor and his wife a little while back, along with friends. A friend gave me a book, 'Don't Make Me Count to Three' which I started reading ages ago, but don't think I ever finished and didn't really have the energy to read before (sounds terrible I know). But recently I found it again and thought it'd be a good time to read it. Found it quite helpful to think through different issues, but I guess the biggest part I took away was coming back to what the Bible says, particularly in Ephesians 6. It tells children to obey your parents and honour your father and mother. I worry that my decisions may not always be the best, and whether it's fair for my children to have to 'obey' me. But I guess I have to realise that God has put me in this role, and He promises to give me His strength if I submit to Him. It's just so hard at times.
This afternoon I read a blog post from Bob Kauflin who recently visited our church and he highlighted the importance of coming back to the Bible as we think about how our churches should operate, in particular in terms of worship and music. He suggested it's easy to get distracted by what other people do or don't do and our opinions about that, rather than coming straight to God's Word and getting our views directly from there. Made me think how often we do the same with discipline.
Phew. Sometimes life is heavy. Sometimes I wish there weren't so many decisions I had to make.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Imperfect
I run an imperfect household. There are so many things I haven't figured out. Parenting is HARD work!!
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Shine Conference
I went to the Shine Conference today, and had a great time. I haven't been involved with worship ministry in quite a while, and had almost forgotten how much I love it.
The morning speaker talked about the power of music, and the impact it can have on people and how we should be really wise in the way we use music in our churches - particularly in the selection of songs. Music has such a huge potential to point people to God and to remind them of His promises, even amidst the most difficult circumstances. I can attest to that - so many times I have ended up in tears when God has brought along the right song at just the right time to speak to my heart - He is truly an amazing God!!
In the afternoon I went to the vocals workshop which was fun, and very practical. Made me want to start singing lessons and join the worship team again soon!!
Had two good cups of coffee and met some lovely ladies, and was reminded again just how small Christian circles are!! Didn't meet any great single guys though... shame.
Elisabeth Elliot writes:
'The growth of all living green things wonderfully represents the process of receiving and relinquishing, gaining and losing, living and dying. The seed falls into the ground, dies as the new shoot springs up. There must be a splitting and a breaking in order for a bud to form. The bud 'lets go' when the flower forms. The calyx lets go of the flower. The petals must curl up and die in order for the fruit to form. The fruit falls, splits, relinquishes the seed. The seed falls into the ground....
There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go.' Passion and Purity, p163
The morning speaker talked about the power of music, and the impact it can have on people and how we should be really wise in the way we use music in our churches - particularly in the selection of songs. Music has such a huge potential to point people to God and to remind them of His promises, even amidst the most difficult circumstances. I can attest to that - so many times I have ended up in tears when God has brought along the right song at just the right time to speak to my heart - He is truly an amazing God!!
In the afternoon I went to the vocals workshop which was fun, and very practical. Made me want to start singing lessons and join the worship team again soon!!
Had two good cups of coffee and met some lovely ladies, and was reminded again just how small Christian circles are!! Didn't meet any great single guys though... shame.
Elisabeth Elliot writes:
'The growth of all living green things wonderfully represents the process of receiving and relinquishing, gaining and losing, living and dying. The seed falls into the ground, dies as the new shoot springs up. There must be a splitting and a breaking in order for a bud to form. The bud 'lets go' when the flower forms. The calyx lets go of the flower. The petals must curl up and die in order for the fruit to form. The fruit falls, splits, relinquishes the seed. The seed falls into the ground....
There is no ongoing spiritual life without this process of letting go.' Passion and Purity, p163
Friday, August 19, 2011
Contentment
Recently I discovered (or perhaps finally admitted) bitterness in my life... bitterness about my current singleness. Perhaps it's more that I'm single again because I'm now divorced that's made me bitter. I don't know. Anyhow, after I identified it, I prayed about it and asked God what I should do about it... it felt awful and I realised it had really been eating away at me.
Then God reminded me of a well-known verse, that we also looked at in our series on Ephesians recently at church, 'Get rid of all bitterness...' (4:31). In my experience of this verse previously, the focus has been on getting rid of anger (mentioned later in the verse) - the bitterness part has been skipped over. But it's clear, this one's black-and-white, God tells me to GET RID OF BITTERNESS. It has no part in the life of a follower of Jesus. Bitterness = a focus on my circumstances not on Jesus.
I also thought more about contentment, that when we are content, there is no room for bitterness. As Paul wrote, 'I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.' Philippians 4:11b-13
Then God reminded me of a well-known verse, that we also looked at in our series on Ephesians recently at church, 'Get rid of all bitterness...' (4:31). In my experience of this verse previously, the focus has been on getting rid of anger (mentioned later in the verse) - the bitterness part has been skipped over. But it's clear, this one's black-and-white, God tells me to GET RID OF BITTERNESS. It has no part in the life of a follower of Jesus. Bitterness = a focus on my circumstances not on Jesus.
I also thought more about contentment, that when we are content, there is no room for bitterness. As Paul wrote, 'I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.' Philippians 4:11b-13
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Do not be dismayed
'So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.' Isaiah 41:10 NIV
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Be still
It's interesting reading things you've learnt in the past, only to find you're relearning them again,... and again... and again.
I looked back at a couple of my posts from a year ago. In one I asked how often we have a lack of faith as to what God can do. Even though I've seen God at work in the past - in the Bible, in the lives of friends and others, and in my own life - I still have a lack of faith a lot of the time. It's when I look at my circumstances, and forget to thank Him for all His gifts, and for who He is that I lack faith.
So to my heart in that moment, God says, 'Be STILL and know that I am God' (Psalm 46:10).
I looked back at a couple of my posts from a year ago. In one I asked how often we have a lack of faith as to what God can do. Even though I've seen God at work in the past - in the Bible, in the lives of friends and others, and in my own life - I still have a lack of faith a lot of the time. It's when I look at my circumstances, and forget to thank Him for all His gifts, and for who He is that I lack faith.
So to my heart in that moment, God says, 'Be STILL and know that I am God' (Psalm 46:10).
Monday, May 30, 2011
He offers us His wisdom
The last sentence in the devotion I just posted a link to really rang true for me. Recently I've been grappling with an issue in my life which many Christians spend lots of time giving their opinions about. In my head I knew where I stood, but my heart wanted to convince me otherwise.
Thankfully God has placed wise people in my life who have been able to give me good advice. One reminded me of Proverbs 3:5-6, where God promises to guide our paths as we seek Him. The verses always make me think of a song we taught at Crusaders Winter Escape years ago. Anyway, it didn't happen as quickly as I would have liked, but God did make my path straight - He very clearly guided me as I kept coming to him, doubts, concerns, emotions and all. Here's the sentence from the InTouch devotion for today:
'God assumes responsibility for offering His children sought-after wisdom and enabling them to keep walking on the right path (Prov. 3:5-6).'
Thankfully God has placed wise people in my life who have been able to give me good advice. One reminded me of Proverbs 3:5-6, where God promises to guide our paths as we seek Him. The verses always make me think of a song we taught at Crusaders Winter Escape years ago. Anyway, it didn't happen as quickly as I would have liked, but God did make my path straight - He very clearly guided me as I kept coming to him, doubts, concerns, emotions and all. Here's the sentence from the InTouch devotion for today:
'God assumes responsibility for offering His children sought-after wisdom and enabling them to keep walking on the right path (Prov. 3:5-6).'
Friday, May 20, 2011
Answered Prayer
'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.' Proverbs 3:506
I love God's promise to make our paths straight. I love that He answers our prayers, not always in the way we expect, but in the BEST way. I love that His wisdom rules supreme over my thoughts and feelings. I love that He is a faithful, loving, Sovereign God.
Though I don't understand why, I see a God who loves us immensely and who is 100% reliable, As a wise old friend told me recently, if we keep seeking God and asking Him for guidance, He will guide us - that's what He says in His Word. and He has. I can say with confidence, God does guide us, one step at a time, in His perfect timing. He makes our paths straight. :)
I love God's promise to make our paths straight. I love that He answers our prayers, not always in the way we expect, but in the BEST way. I love that His wisdom rules supreme over my thoughts and feelings. I love that He is a faithful, loving, Sovereign God.
Though I don't understand why, I see a God who loves us immensely and who is 100% reliable, As a wise old friend told me recently, if we keep seeking God and asking Him for guidance, He will guide us - that's what He says in His Word. and He has. I can say with confidence, God does guide us, one step at a time, in His perfect timing. He makes our paths straight. :)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Email and new friendships
I'm starting to wonder how helpful emails are in building friendships. For friends you have an existing relationship with that has been built over a significant period of time, it's different - they know you relatively well (hopefully!) and should have a fair idea of how to interpret what you've written. You can pretty much just be yourself.
But with new friends I find myself in a different place. Initially I'm all gung ho and happy to be myself, then after a little while I start thinking too hard about everything and worry about offending them, or asking too many questions, or sharing too much... I write and rewrite and rewrite, delete, rewrite, delete, and then after clicking send I think more about what I wrote and wonder whether I should have included bits I deleted, or deleted bits I included.
I'm thinking emails are not such a helpful tool for me to build new friendships, but I'm not sure how to get around it as email is such a big part of how we do life and interact and organise everything now.
Any thoughts?
But with new friends I find myself in a different place. Initially I'm all gung ho and happy to be myself, then after a little while I start thinking too hard about everything and worry about offending them, or asking too many questions, or sharing too much... I write and rewrite and rewrite, delete, rewrite, delete, and then after clicking send I think more about what I wrote and wonder whether I should have included bits I deleted, or deleted bits I included.
I'm thinking emails are not such a helpful tool for me to build new friendships, but I'm not sure how to get around it as email is such a big part of how we do life and interact and organise everything now.
Any thoughts?
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friendship
I've been thinking a fair bit about friendship lately - particularly friendship between males and females. Friends have the potential to teach us so much, to share life with us, to help us grow, to support us, to tell us hard words that we may need to hear at times... They are people who accept us just as we are - yes, we may frustrate and confuse them at times, but they still stick by us and continue to walk through life with us.
But when it comes to the opposite sex, friendship can be confusing... but I remember speaking to an older lady about it last year, and she reminded me of the importance of enjoying and appreciating the here and now, of seeing the value each friend brings to my life now, and the value I can bring to theirs. It's pretty special really. I'm very thankful to God for new and old friends, so many people who continue to shape me and support me, who can help me learn to relax and who I can enjoy life with. So many memories yet to be made. :)
But when it comes to the opposite sex, friendship can be confusing... but I remember speaking to an older lady about it last year, and she reminded me of the importance of enjoying and appreciating the here and now, of seeing the value each friend brings to my life now, and the value I can bring to theirs. It's pretty special really. I'm very thankful to God for new and old friends, so many people who continue to shape me and support me, who can help me learn to relax and who I can enjoy life with. So many memories yet to be made. :)
Friday, April 29, 2011
And his heart was filled with love
Sarah asked me to read the book, 'Ragged Bear' to her this morning. It's one of my favourite stories about a toy bear who gets left behind in the rain one day, but is later rescued by another child. He is then mended and cared for.
The youth group girls gave the book to me and the girls almost two years ago, along with a huge box of other goodies. They were so thoughtful - I had a good cry when they dropped around with the surprise!!
I love the end of the story, '... he was the happiest teddy in the world. He was still old - and a little bit worn - but he was no longer ragged and torn. And his heart was filled with love.'
The youth group girls gave the book to me and the girls almost two years ago, along with a huge box of other goodies. They were so thoughtful - I had a good cry when they dropped around with the surprise!!
I love the end of the story, '... he was the happiest teddy in the world. He was still old - and a little bit worn - but he was no longer ragged and torn. And his heart was filled with love.'
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
This is real life
As a significant birthday approaches, I look back over the last ten years or so and wonder whether it all really happened, sometimes it feels like a movie - surely this isn't my life! But it is. Here I am today, having been through a whole lot of experiences I never thought possible. But the future is filled with new possibilities, and new opportunities to share other people's journeys with them.
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