Harking and Harolding

A familiar scene in the Nativity Story. Don't we always sing that traditional hymn about angels singing?

Luke 2:13-14

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.

I often find myself wondering what a multitude of angels in worship to God really sounds like. Probably a sound like none we have heard here on this earth. Most likely louder than our ears can handle and our mind will comprehend. I must admit, I get a bit jealous that the angels get the sole job of worshiping God ALL THE TIME. Sounds like a stellar job description to me!

Something has occurred to me, though. God has ten thousands upon ten thousands of angels in constant worship of His glory. But...BUT...who does He most want to worship His glory? Y.O.U. and M.E. hmmmm...Maybe our best worship that we give to Him is more meaningful than the enormous sounds of that grand multitude?

That would make sense, right. I mean, He didn't send Jesus to this earth as a baby to later die on the cross for the angels. God did that for you and for me. When I look at it that way, I am less intimidated by the thought of worship and I am free to just pour it all out for the sake of giving glory to my KING. It blesses my heart that the God of the Universe wants my worship. Check out what the book, Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge, has to say about this.

"A woman's worship brings Jesus immense pleasure and deep ministry...Jesus desires you to pour out your love on him in extravagant worship that minister's to his heart." (Captivating, page 125)

I can bring immense pleasure to Jesus just by singing my off tune heart out! YOU can minister to His heart by praising Him with your whole life!

Next time you think your harking and harolding doesn't make a difference, do it anyway knowing that He is pleased with your worship.

Go Tell it On The Mountain

I would love for you to take a look at Luke 2:8-20...

It is so easy to gloss over the old, familiar passages in the Bible about the birth of Christ. Didn’t we learn all about the angels and the Shepherds during Nativity performances when we were younger?? Though you probably are very familiar with the story of the Shepherd’s encounter with the angels that one starry night in Bethlehem, take sometime to put yourself in their sandals and carry the Shepherd’s rod while you imagine what it would be like that one fateful night so long ago.

Take a few moments to imagine.

Feel the cool darkness of the night as you are tending the sheep just as you had the previous nights….



What are you talking about with your fellow Shepherds? Same old stuff, just a different night…



Are you weary of the job of being a “lowly Shepherd?”



Then, as the night sky blinds you with the glory of the Angels, how fast does your heart begin to beat? Maybe you fall to the ground in wonder…



Do you join in with the Angels singing, “Glory to God in the Highest…!”


Now…how quickly can you run back to Bethlehem to share the Good News? Are you even running or does it feel like your feet aren’t even touching the ground…?



~This kind of thing doesn’t always happen these days. How often do we experience angels singing and bright shining stars? However, you and I are now the bright shining stars who share the good news around the world about the birth of our Savior, Jesus. Just like the Shepherds did that first Noel, go…hurry…quickly… and enthusiastically tell others about your encounter with your LORD!

Luke 2:20 (ESV)
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.

Podcast! Session #2 Power Above All Power

This is the second session from the Above All Retreat. Please take a look at the video link below. It is a skit based on the song, Everything, by Lifehouse and I refer to it in the session.

Powered by Podbean.com

Podcast! Session #1 Preparing for your Mountain Top Experience

Ok, so...I am trying a new thing. Trying to be more techy in this evolving technological world!

This is the first message for a retreat I lead in Asheville, NC. The attendees were some lovely ladies from Myrtle Beach, SC. “Above All” was the theme for this great getaway.

Preparing for your Mountain Top Experience

Powered by Podbean.com

God Whispers

God whispers...does that sound weird to you? Sometimes we need a whisper in our heart, it makes us really listen to the quiet truths He wants us to know. Whispers make us lean in and try to hear a secret. But, God's whispers are not secrets-that is for sure. But still, whispers intrigue us and play to our nature of wanting to know something...well...intriguing.

God whispered to me this morning while sitting on the top deck over looking the Atlantic Ocean. Those of you who know me well, might be surprised that I jumped out of bed this early hour to go and meet with God. (I am NOT a morning person; I do NOT do my best thinking at 6am. In fact, most of my blogs are written in the late hours of the evening-get what I'm saying??) It must have been this invigorating sea breeze that kicked my mind in gear to tune in to His whisper.

Ephesians 3: 19 says:

And to know the LOVE of Christ that SURPASSES knowledge, that you may be filled with ALL the FULLNESS of GOD. (emphasis mine)

When we take time to breath in His glorious beauty and step outside of ourselves {our wants and needs} then we can rest in the knowledge that He has our wants and needs under control. Be filled with the fullness of God and realize that, though our requests are important to Him, they are just no big deal for Him. Rest in that truth.

Breath in that peace.

Listen to His whispers.

Be filled with the fullness of Him.

That fullness is sufficient.

That fullness is enough.

Anticipation

As I am typing these words, my heart is racing and I have this rush of overwhelming relief flowing through my body. This feeling is so powerful that I might just cry right now. What in the world am I so emotional about? My handsome husband is on his way home from Iraq and our family will be reunited. Can I just say, I LOVE MY MAN! Anticipation! I can hardly get a grip on the fact that we will be together again in a matter of weeks.

So, of course this got me thinking about looking forward towards the future. I am the type of girl who is always jumping ahead and enthusiastic about the next big project or event. When that time comes, I throw myself in feet first and never look back. Its just how I operate. Some people would say that I am too passionate or too "worked up" about what I get involved in. But, now that I think about it, this character trait is what makes me so overwhelmingly excited about my future in Heaven...with Jesus!

This world is not the end for those who make Christ their Lord and King. Does this scare you or thrill you? Don't hear me say that we are not to make the most of our time here on earth while loving and serving our LORD with all of our mind, soul and strength (Matthew 12:30) If the thought of "this earth is not the end" frightens you, I encourage you to search the scriptures and ask the LORD to show you a sliver of what HE has in store for you in the eternal.

I'm dreaming of the day when I will see my KING face to face. No doubt that my heart will be exploding and HIS glory will blow my mind.

Ephesians 3:20-21
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Oh, and did I mention that I LOVE MY MAN?! The fact that we will get to worship Jesus together in Heaven is just the most amazing thing!

Fun Stuff and Old Stuff

{fun stuff}

Check out She Seeks this week for an AWESOME giveaway contest. Help us spread the word about She Seeks and be entered in for a chance to win some fun prizes!












{old stuff}


Here is an old blog post from a couple of years ago. I will be working on getting back to a better blogging schedule very soon!


I got a hold of some great scripture cards that encourage praying specific scriptures and have been trying to memorize and pray a new scripture daily.

Today's verse:
" Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for Himself; the LORD will hear when I call to Him." Psalm 4:3

This verse is rich with so much meaning and is worth taking the time to look at what some of the words mean in Hebrew. In doing this, I get a tid bit of extra insight into what the writer of the Psalm was meaning when using that particular word. Alot of Hebrew words have deeper definitions than our English translation allows us to read.

The Hebrew for "set apart" means to be distinguished, to deal differently, to make a distinction. This means to me that God made me distinct from others and especially made me different from non believers. He sets apart His own to live godly, holy lives while holding us to a higher standard than the rest of the world. Once we become a follower of Christ, we are still going to mess up, but with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can live that godly, holy life that is on par with God's standards. This should be our aim everyday...

But, also take note of the fact that the LORD sets apart the godly FOR HIMSELF. He doesn't just pick us out of the crowd, and then sluff us aside to be forgotten. The LORD saves us for HIMSELF,for His pleasure and delight. Boy do I want to live to delight the LORD!

But, how do I actually delight the LORD? This brings me back to the Hebrew meaning of the word, "godly." It means to be merciful, faithful, kind, benevolent, and gracious. This definition does not cover the whole meaning of the word but it gives us an idea of what the LORD is looking for in godliness. Christ lived this example out for us and we can turn to the New Testament for further instruction on godliness.

LIVE IT OUT application:
In the meantime, what are ways that I can be more merciful, kind or gracious to those around me? What are some things I can do today to delight the LORD with my faithfulness? How can I act as one SET APART?

LORD, you are worthy of our praise and worthy of our godly actions. Show me, through your Holy Sprit, how to live my life as one set apart. My goal is to delight you and to also delight and have joy in You.