Sunday, June 6, 2010

Life is not fair.

Life is not fair.
Life is not fair.

Life. Is. Not. Fair.


But God is good.

I just have to remember that.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

You Don't Have To Move That Mountain by Nickel Creek

You don't have to move that mountain
Just help me Lord to climb it
You don't have to move that stumblin' block
Just show me the way around it

We must climb a great high mountain
To reach God's gracious kingdom
In His words you'll find the strength
If you will just believe them

You don't have to move that mountain
Just help me Lord to climb it
You don't have to move that stumblin' block
Just show me the way around it

Well, the way is filled with pitfalls
And sometimes we may falter
You can have His grace, my friend
On your knees down at the altar

You don't have to move that mountain
Just help me Lord to climb it
You don't have to move that stumblin' block
Just show me the way around it


Sometimes I feel overwhelmed
by the mountains
and the stumbling blocks.
So overwhelmed.
So overwhelmed that I feel like
sitting down
in the middle of the road
and just crying.
I worry.
I worry way too much.
I worry about job stuff, money,
the future, my health,
relationships,
almost everything.
I know I shouldn't.
I just can't help it sometimes.
I wish I could.
Really.

Worrying cannot change anything.
God doesn't want us to worry.
He tells us not to worry.
I can worry all I want but it won't change anything.

So why can't I stop?
I want to trust God.
I want to have complete faith.
I want to let go
and let God.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Eden

Sometimes a song can express exactly what I'm feeling and needing to say,
but don't know how to.
Sometimes when I don't even realize that I need to say it.

Every now and then, I can have something that's been weighing on my heart
for the past few months
or the past few hours
that I'll know I need to take to God
and I just won't know how to.

I have trouble letting go of things.
I am able to say
"God I can't handle this.
Please, help me.
Take this from me.
You're so much more capable than me."
But I'm not always able
to actually let go.
I want to.

I've often prayed for the desire to want to let go.
Because you need that before you gain the actual ability, right?

But, sometimes, I'll have this
struggle
temptation
doubt
worry
depression
weighing on me so heavily
or maybe I'll push it to the back of my mind
and try to deny that it's weighing on me
and then
I'll hear a song

it could be a song that I've heard countless times
or one that's brand new to me
and my heart
will just break.
It'll bring tears to my eyes.

I love
love
love
finding songs that speak the words
that I can't find to say
no matter how desperately I want to say them.

Eden by Phil Wickham
is one of those songs for me.

The first time I heard it, I was sort of mesmerized.
I got chills.
By the end I was smiling and crying at the same time.
I wanted to hear it again
And again.
And again.
It's beautiful
and it describes the way I feel about God
in a way that I never could find words for.

I still get chills
and sometimes a little teary
every
single
time
I hear it.

I hope you like it, too.

Do you have a song that speaks to you
like this one does to me?


Eden by Phil Wickham

When the first light brightened the dark
Before the breaking of the human heart
There was You and there was me
Innocence was all I knew
'Cause all I had to know was You
We were running underneath the trees

I wanna see you face to face
Where being in your arms is the permanent state
I want it like it was back then
I wanna be in Eden

I remember how'd You call my name
And I would meet You at the garden gate
How the glory of Your love would shine
And I remember when the stars were young
You breathed life into my lungs
Oh I never felt so alive

I wanna see you face to face
Where being in your arms is the permanent state
I want it like it was back then
I wanna be in Eden

To be naked and unashamed
In a sweet downpour of innocent rain
I want it like it was back then
I wanna be in Eden

Where my eyes can see the colors of glory
My hands can reach the heaven before me
Oh, my God I wanna be there with You
Where our hearts will beat with joy together
And love will reign forever and ever
Oh my God I wanna be there with You

I wanna see you face to face
Where being in your arms is the permanent state
I want it like it was back then
I wanna be in Eden

To be naked and unashamed
In a sweet downpour of innocent rain
I want it like it was back then
I wanna be in Eden



Friday, May 28, 2010

.... For such a time as this

Esther was a young girl - probably in her mid to late teens - when she was chosen to replace Queen Vashti in King Ahasuerus's court.

She was beautiful, smart, and got along with everyone.

But she was a Jew in a Persian's royal court.

She was afraid to reveal her background for fear that she and her family would die all the quicker when irresponsible King Ahasuerus was manipulated into agreeing to kill all the Jews in the kingdom because of one man's bruised ego.

Then Esther's uncle Mordecai told her "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
(Esther 4:13-14)

Uncle Mordecai is saying, "Wake up girl!"
Don't you think that God put you where you are for a reason?
You can save your people.
You can save us.
God is on your side.
But the longer you wait, the more you tell God, "I don't believe you can do it."
Trust Him.
Believe in Him.
Look where He's placed you.
This is not a coincidence.
God doesn't do coincidences.
He believes in you.

I honestly believe that God works everything together for good
and places us where we are for very specific reasons.
For such a time as this.
It's not His fault if we refuse to open our eyes and realize what's staring us in the face.

If you've never studied the book of Esther, please do it.
Especially if you're a woman.
Young or not so young.
Especially if you're not too sure of what's going on in your life right now.
Or if you think you have it all together and life is just peachy.

What opportunity has God placed at your feet that you might be overlooking?
Where has He placed you for such a time as this?

Please read the book of Esther to see how Esther trusts God and how He delivers the Jewish people through her faith and bravery.