I heard this song a few weeks ago for the first time and it really gave me the chills- it still does each time I hear. The lyrics are really powerful.
Yesterday I listened to this song several times and it really made me think about where I am in my walk with God and my life in general. My strongest desire is to help people. I had to ask myselfl How is my life being used by the Lord to effect others? Now that we have moved out of the ministry of Adopt-A-Block, my counselings have slowed down (I just have 2 now) and after this week I will no longer be working at the church I am really trying to think some things out and figure out how to stay as effective for the kingdom. And dont get religious on me, I know a person can be effective in the work place, at home with kids and anywhere else but, I am talking about my life. For so long my life has been saturated with ministry, everyday has been linked to ministry and before my eyes it is switching to more of a home-life and I finally get to focus on helping my husband grow his business but, as I listen to this song I always get a visual (like a mental motion picture before my eyes) of all the things the Lord has allowed me the grace to do for him and I have an awesome walk with God. I've met many people and walked some really cool things out with our church. How will I remain effective in the mon-friday, 8-5 grind?
Don't get me wrong, I am excited to see what this next chapter will bring. I'm excited to be able to meet new people outside of my circle of life, I'm also excited to dress up and be around others (I was usually in the office alone and I cleaned the church so anything other than capris and jeans was out of the question) but I'm especially excited to work along side my hubby. I pray that with this new adventure we are taking on together, we will continue to impact people for the Lord and though it will be in a different way, it will still be effective - I know that this company will be a success!
That is why I am so thankful to the Lord for being surrounded by such an amazing group of people. We have a great Leadership team in our church. We would not or could not be the awesome ministry we are without each and every one of them. I am constantly reminded of it:
Last night at our KPM Leadership meeting Scott and I made an announcement to everyone about a BIG change in our lives, a new season (sounds more spiritual that way-hehe). It is so refreshing to truly be surrounded by great people who embrace us in every chapter of our lives not to forget our Pastors who have always been so supportive of all of our endeavors and even give us the freedom to take chances and even make mistakes, because when we all make them (it is inevitable). But when we do we know we are shown grace and mercy.
As so much else in our lives this year we did not see this one coming either but, as with anything else we will face this new challenge, this new blessing and this new calling - head on knowing that He who calls us is faithful and HE WILL complete the GOOD work that he has started within us! I am saddened to say Good-bye to such an awesome blessing- but I am also excited at this new chapter in my life, side by side with my awesome hubby, his success is my success.
As Scott and I embark on this together I ask that you pray for us like never before and for Texas PRN as we pour ourselves into it whole heartedly and with all we have within us. It is a GREAT company and I am so proud of my awesome and wonderful man-of-God.
Before I get out of bed I read a daily devotional on my phone and here is this mornings devo. It made me stop and think of all the excuses I come up with.... geez just this morning I didnt want to get out of bed bc of this or that....... perfect timing? (God timing!) Hope you enjoy.
I'm a sports fan. I'm sure that comes as news to no one! For some strange reason, even when I was growing up, I could remember the most amazing details---okay, maybe "trivia" is a better word---about different ballplayers. You know, stuff nobody really cares to hear, but nevertheless sticks in my head . . . the way it does with most sports fans.
Another characteristic of a fan is an indomitable sense of commitment or determination---okay, okay, maybe "addiction" is a better word! Against incredible odds, sound logic, and even medical advice, sports fans will persevere to the dying end! Difficulties are viewed as a challenge . . . never an excuse to stay away!
I've often wondered what would happen if people were as intense and committed and determined about church as they are about sports---or any number of other pastimes. This was reinforced some years back in a Moody Monthly piece that illustrated twelve excuses a fella might use for "quitting sports." The analogy isn't hard to figure out.
Every time I went, they asked me for money. The people with whom I had to sit didn't seem very friendly. The seats were too hard and not comfortable. The coach never came to call on me. The referee made a decision with which I could not agree. I was sitting with some hypocrites---they came only to see what others were wearing. Some games went into overtime, and I was late getting home. The band played numbers that I had never heard before. The games are scheduled when I want to do other things. My parents took me to too many games when I was growing up. Since I read a book on sports, I feel that I know more than the coaches anyhow. I don't want to take my children, because I want them to choose for themselves what sport they like best.
I've come up with a few more:
The parking lot was awful . . . I had to walk six blocks to the stadium. Nobody came up and introduced himself to me . . . very impersonal, also loud! The public address and lighting systems don't suit me. It's always too hot (or cold) in the stadium.
Enough said. Think it over.
What would happen if we approached church responsibilities with the same enthusiasm we give to our hobbies, sports, and other extracurricular activities?
I read a portion of scripture that totally changed my life many many years ago and it is simply 2 words... but, they have been the most powerful words to transform my walk with God!
In Daniel 3: 1-29 it is an amazing faith lesson of encouraging believers to have an uncompromising trust in God and a passion to stand against adversity. To stand for what you believe knowing that God is in control of the outcome so you can trust him and Him alone.
The 2 words I am talking about are found in verse 18..... "EVEN IF" to me, those words pack a very powerful punch because there are so many times in life where I find that I am tempted to bow to so many things.... sadness, condemnation, gossip, fear, hopelessness wanting to give up,... all of those other things that can become god-like on a throne of our flesh.
In the end we end up bowing down to it and giving in to what our flesh wants to serve - our self! Especially when we have been wronged and feel like we have every right in the world to dislike someone - we can even justify bitterness and un-forgiveness sometimes.
When I find myself in moments of wanting to bow to the things of this world like doubt and discouragment it is always these 2 words that put me back into the position the Word teaches us to take, a place of encouraging myself in the Lord and stirring up the faith within me.
It is the 2 words "EVEN IF" that I hear myself always come back to because I truly believe in my God who is a God of restoration and the holy spirit who is my comforter. I truly believe that if in those moments of utter disbelief and desperation if I can just confess "EVEN IF" it is always followed by me being reminded that even if (insert situation here) I will NEVER serve any other God.
So today I am telling the Lord on this Tuesday.... 12 weeks after the fact that EVEN IF I feel this hurt in my heart from time to time for the rest of my life I will serve you. Even if the situation does not look like I would have like or wanted it to, I will not curse you. Even if we never have the children we so desire - I WILL SERVE YOU. Even if people I have poured my life into walk away like nothing, even if I'm scared sometimes, even if I have days where I feel like I'm running on fumes... I have made a decision........ EVEN IF..... I will bow to no other, I will serve none other than THE MOST HIGH GOD- EVEN IF!!!
For the past few weeks I have been listening to this song over and over because it is such a beautiful song of confession that NO MATTER WHAT, I'M GONNA LOVE my God.
Today on the radio I heard an interview with the girl who sings this song and it turns out that she heard a sermon about the very scripture I am talking about and it so ministered to her that she wrote this song. So it makes sense that the very song that bring so much life and encouragement to me comes from the scripture that brings so much life and encouragement to me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
This song is also the song I played while we wrote the tags we tied to the balloons for the women of destiny meeting.
Hope you enjoy!
Daniel 3
The King's Golden Image
1Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, the height of which was sixty cubits and its width six cubits; he set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
2Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent word to assemble the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
3Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all the rulers of the provinces were assembled for the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
4Then the herald loudly proclaimed: "To you the command is given, O peoples, nations and men of every language,
5that at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up.
6"But whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into the midst of afurnace of blazing fire."
7Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
Worship of the Image Refused
8For this reason at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and brought charges against the Jews.
9They responded and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king: "O king, live forever!
10"You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image.
11"But whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire.
12"There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon, namely Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. These men, O king, have disregarded you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image which you have set up."
13Then Nebuchadnezzar in rage and anger gave orders to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego; then these men were brought before the king.
14Nebuchadnezzar responded and said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up?
15"Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?"
16Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.
17"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
18"But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Daniel's Friends Protected
19Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
20He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.
22For this reason, because the king's command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.
23But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.
24Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, "Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?" They replied to the king, "Certainly, O king."
25He said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!"
26Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!" Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.
27The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king's high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.
28Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who hassent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king's command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.
29"Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way."
30Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.
- Even if and no matter what, my God is so good to me.
This morning I woke up and my first thought was "Wow".
Today is the first day of getting back to everyday life since the end of 2009 and first week of January of this year.
Since the beginning of the year we have had so much looming over us at all times - we just kept going over one hurdle after the other knowing that at some point the finish line for all the big stuff was before us even if we couldn't see it sometimes we knew in our hearts that things would slow down sometime.... we just needed to consistantly continue in the race.
Well, I'm happy to announce all the big things are behind us.
baby issues
move
summer camp
summer obligations
my mom's 2 surgeries
job transitions
EVERYTHING!!!
Wow, we are back to everyday life.... working, ministry and all the little things that make up our everyday lives.
Today I was waken to one word and one emotion:
I said "Wow" today is a fresh start to my everyday life
and
I was overcome with a feeling of hope..... how I have missed that feeling, its been a while since I have truely felt so much hope. True hope not just head knowledge hope but the hope that is accompanied with peace. Peace for today, tomorrow and so on..
Today is the start of the rest of my life....... as I was driving home last night I was thinking about all that has happened this year and it has been rough - I mean really rough but, I am sure that my God is faithful and I am sure that this work that he began he will complete.
So, today I say "welcome home hope, I've missed you now settle in in my heart because things are about to get really good and really normal".... what a relief.
There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Phil 1:6 (the message)
At our new place the pool is just one door down from where we are so the kids have really been loving it being so close. We have spent lots of time in there.
This year for our 9th anniversary the day was WAY different than usual but still so fun! We had the kiddos with us and it was a Wednesday so we had church but, the kids and I found a way to make the day a little more interesting............
We blew up balloons and filled up Scott's car with them so when he got off work his car was full of balloons. We had so much fun.... being goofy and doing my favorite thing: making sweet memories together..........
Hope you have a great day as summer comes to a quick close.
We completed summer camp with the youth and it was amazing!!!! God really did a lot in the lives of the teenagers, both individually and as a group. I was also changed at this camp... but more on that later.
I spoke at our women of Destiny meeting on Friday and I wanted to share a very special moment with you. During the week I felt the the direction to buy 24 red balloons and use them at the women's service. I asked each woman to write down their biggest struggle/ something that they were having trouble releasing to the Lord, something that they have been carrying for a long time. I turned on some music and we each wrote down the thing that we wanted to fully release to the Lord- the thing we are struggling with most and tie it to the balloon and we were going to go outside and as a gesture to the Lord, surrender that thing... let it go and watch it fade from sight. It was powerful and beautiful.
The tag I tied to my balloon simply said
"Zachary Ryan Taylor - I love you my baby boy"
(if you are tired of hearing it change the page because I am still working through my healing)
On Wednesday Scott and I drove to Waco and my hubby surprised me with a Nook! Yay. I have been wanting one for a very long time and I have really enjoyed it! I have the best hubby - I love him just for who he is... all of the sweet things he does is just a bonus.
Then on Thursday after work I went to pick up the kids so that we can hang out with them for a while before school begins again... we are having a great time.
This sunday my sweetheart preached in the main service and the Lord laid a very powerful word on his heart for us, the congregation, it was very powerful and my hubby did an awesome job. I love his love for others and his love for God makes him so amazing to me :) I truely love my man.
Tomorrow I am driving back to Columbus TX to drop off 2 of our youth. They both felt like the Lord was telling them to go back to intern for the week so, I am so excited about them going.
We have some amazing youth and parents in XYC right now.
Then this Wednesday is our 9th year anniversary - wow, has it been that long?
