♫Hosanna... ♫

Saturday, May 8, 2010 (10:35 a.m.)

♫Hosanna, Hosanna,

♫Come have Your way among us We welcome You here, Lord Jesus♫ Mm, Lord. Thank You! Thank You that You ARE ♫the God who saves us Worthy of all our praises♫

Mm. Yes! ♫Praise is rising, eyes are turning to You, we (I) turn to You Hope is stirring, hearts are yearning for You, we (I) long for You♫ Oh yes Lord. It’s true! A minute ago I was going to come before You grumbling, growling, grousing… ANY “gr” word, but grateful! But You kept singing ♫Hosanna♫ in my heart. Thank You that I chose listening to that rather than continuing in the negative vein I had found myself.

Lord, thank You for the truth found in Your Word. Thank You for the hope that is found when looking to You instead of things of this world.

Lord. I confess to thinking I could find the same peace and joy from reading a Christian love story as I do in coming to You first thing in the morning. NOT! The more determined I became in finishing the 300 page book about mother-daughter relationships, mistakes from the past, the need for healthy boundaries and forgiveness all around, the more distraught I became.

Thank You God that YOURS is the true love story! Your love for us, covering ALL our sins! Thank You Lord.

Thank You that I get to come before You with an attitude bordering on anger and resentment and You just keep providing song after song of love for You to my heart. Thank You that You can change my balled up fists of hurt and frustration into opened palms of praise and thanksgiving. That’s You Lord! At Your best! Thank You.

Thank You for stirring up all the slights, fears and settled dust of the past in order to remind me of how Eugene Patterson describes Your presentation of perfect love. 1John 4:17-18, “God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day – our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life – fear of death, fear of judgment – is one not yet fully formed in love.” Lord, thank You for coming to fully form us in Your love.

Thank You that Yours is a love on which we can stand, lean, depend, rest. Yours is the perfect love of which we are to pattern our loving of others. Thank You for singing Your love into my heart. ♫Hosanna, hosanna… ♫

(468 words ~ 11:35 a.m.)