♫Be glorified...♫

Tuesday, November 30, 2010 (6:27 a.m.)

Blessed Lord God,

How I ask this morning that You would come and be glorified in my life. What a glorious thought to wake up to. Thank You Lord.

I tried everything I could in my own power yesterday to continue holding another cold at bay. Soup, plenty of liquids, extra vitamin C… Rather than looking at myself as a wuss, a failure, or a great big baby Lord, I am coming straight to You asking that You would indeed ♫be glorified♫ in this cold,

For the first time in quite a few weeks the husband and I have again turned our attentions to making healthier choices concerning food and exercise. I don’t want this little blip in the radar of our whole-hearted attempts to derail us with a ‘too little too late’ attitude. No Lord, I come before You longing to see You ♫be glorified♫ in all aspects of our beings. Sore throat, sniffles and all.

Most Dear and Holy God, this is a relatively new approach Lord. Usually I come before You in such a situation whining about the inconvenience. Today, instead, it’s a gift of grand proportions to be able to ask instead that You ♫be glorified♫. Thank You Lord.

Reading the various verses that mention You being glorified encourage my heart. I even smiled in John 11:4 where You said of Lazarus, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

It was in Isaiah (49:3) that I started singing another song as well. ♫Light of the world You stepped down into darkness Opened my eyes let me see Beauty that makes this heart adore You Hope of a life spent with You So here I am to worship Here I am to bow down Here I am to say that You’re my God Your altogether lovely Altogether worthy Altogether wonderful to me♫ Lord how I thank You for another opportunity to sing of Your glory.

As I leave here to begin whatever You have for me this day how I ever so humbly ask that You would indeed ♫be glorified♫ in it. I love You so very much Dearest Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(376 words ~ 7:41 a.m.)

♫Sing Hallelujah♫

Monday, November 29, 2010 (6:10 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

How I thank You! I’ve been making mistakes lately. Some are bigger than others. But You know what’s really cool? Just as I was waking up and beginning to think about them, I immediately started singing ♫Sing Hallelujah to the Lord♫ instead. Each time my mind begins to replay the concerns of wishing things had been done differently for better results, another verse comes to mind. ♫Sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah, sing hallelujah to the Lord♫ And then I smile!

Thank You Lord. Thank You that even now as I was going to focus on searching for ‘mistakes’ in Your Word, I found myself looking up ‘sing hallelujah’ instead. And this smile of peace and contentment comes directly from the truth of Psalm 33. “Let all the joys of the godly well up in praise to the Lord, for it is right to praise Him” (v.1).

Looking to learn more about the word hallelujah I see that it is a transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning “Praise God”. Again I thank You Lord that instead of waking up to think of the mistakes I’ve been making, I was immediately directed to praise You instead.

♫Sing Hallelujah to the Lord…♫ Mm. Sing hallelujah indeed! Reading a commentary note regarding this psalm You are described as 'powerful and worthy of our trust. You spoke the universe into existence and are able to re-create each of us. You are filled with tender love for all of us. You can remove the defects that bring destruction. And all You ask is that we turn our life over to You so You can work these changes in us.'

Excuse me Lord as I go now and continue singing hallelujah to You. I love You so much. Thank You. Amen.

(296 words ~ 7:28 a.m.)

Christ as Head

Sunday, November 28, 2010 (6:37 a.m.)

Most Blessed Lord God,

How I thank You Lord. Thank You for order and structure and accomplished tasks. Thank You for experience and examples. Thank You for teamwork. Especially with You as our leader. Mm. Lord. You as the Head of our household! How perfect. How wonderful. FINALLY! The truth of Ephesians is noticeably playing out here in our home.

Wow God. I can’t even think of all there is I want to thank You for. Let me instead read and then quote Paul’s words to his dear Christian friends at Ephesus. “Blessings and peace be yours” (Chapter 1:2) “God chose us to be His very own-” (v.4) “-we who stand before Him covered with His love.”

Oh most holy God, there’s far too much truth and love here for me to even try to condense it. Every single verse speaks to Your “wonderful kindness to us” (v.6). It’s all here Lord. The way You would have us live. The blessings that are to be found when we turn from the death and destruction of our old life without You to that which You have always planned for us. New life through Jesus Christ.

Oh most dear and blessed Lord, how I thank You for sparking us to life! Turning these pages I keep nodding and uttering, “Yes! Thank You. Praise You.” Paul wrote of the greatness of Your love. “When I think of the wisdom and scope of His plan, I fall down on my knees and pray to the Father of all the great family of God – some of them already in heaven and some down here on earth – that out of His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you the mighty inner strengthening of His Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high His love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God Himself” (3:17-19).

And see? Every single time I think ‘Yes, this is what I want to say to You’ there truly is more! Verse 20, “Now glory be to God, who by His mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of – infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes.” You amaze me Lord.

Each time I actually find myself walking in the power of Your loving grace I am amazed. I look around and take note. I want to be ever aware of becoming “equipped to do better work” for You (4:12). “Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will lovingly follow the truth at all times – speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly – and so become more and more in every way like Christ who is the Head of His body, the Church. Under His direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly, and each part in its own special way helps the other parts, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (vs. 14-16).

How could I possibly ask for any more than that? Lord Jesus, be the head of this family. This household. This community. This nation. This universe. Christ as Head and we Your body. Mm. Life as it was meant to be. Thank You Lord for working in us in such an incredibly powerful way. Please dearest Lord, keep us mindful and obedient to Your will and to Your way this day, as well as all those that remain. We love You Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(704 words ~ 8:00 a.m.)

learning

Saturday, November 27, 2010 (7:13 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

Thank You! I’m learning. And I love it. [As well as You!] I keep smiling big so far since being out here with You. It’s been almost a week that I’ve been trying to figure out how the lyrics to a Beach Boys song could possibly relate to You. Looking them up just now again affirms that You will cease at nothing to bring a parable to life.

I forget the exact words Pastor Ed uses to explain the meaning of the two words that make up the Greek word parabole. Strong’s Greek Dictionary says, “from paraballo; a similitude (‘parable’), i.e. (symbolic) fictitious narrative (of common life conveying a moral), apothegm or adage – comparison, figure, parable, proverb.”

I have to admit Dearest Lord, this is the very first time I’ve ever linked Your provision of me to that of a motor bike. But You know what? Not all that many years ago I DID come across a story about You and me on a tandem bike. http://www.inspirationalarchive.com/texts/topics/God/tandum.shtml

Being with You on a ♫Little Honda♫ isn’t that big of a stretch after all. Just look at the words! I can fit You in from the very first one. ♫GO! [You tell Your people that all the time J] I’m gonna wake you up early [You do that often!] Cause I’m gonna take a ride with you [You never leave us alone] We’re going down to the Honda shop [clearly a parable here!] I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do [You always have a plan for good] Put on a ragged sweatshirt [we don’t always have to dress our best for You] I’ll take you anywhere you want me to [as long as it’s Your best for us] First gear… it’s alright Second gear… I lean right Third gear… hang on tight Faster it’s alright♫

Lord, I don’t know why I let the idea of being on a motorbike with You seem disrespectful. Is spending time with You supposed to be ♫more fun than a barrel of monkeys♫? ‘Cause I KNOW I can trust You to ♫ride on out of town to any place You know I like♫ I’m learning Lord. You ALWAYS have my best interest at heart!

♫It climbs the hills like a Matchless [or the deer mentioned in 2Samuel 22:34, Psalm 18:33, Habakkuk 3:19] Cause my Honda’s built really tight [You designed all of us to perfection] When I go into the turns Lean with me and hang on tight I better turn on the lights So we can ride my Honda tonight [Blessed Lord, You cover all the bases!] First gear… Faster it’s alright♫

Perfect Blessed God, thank You that I really truly AM learning to trust You with ALL parts of life! You are so good. So holy. And just so darned much fun! Thank You Lord. I love You. Let’s ♫GO!♫ J Amen.

(487 words ~ 8:24 a.m.)

lovely

Friday, November 26, 2010 (8:13 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

You blessed us again yesterday. We got to enjoy Your presence. And surprises. There was joy and laughter and WAY too much food. Mostly there was love and order and just enough momentary chaos to add some spice. Truly God, I do not remember a more lovely day. It was real. Effortless. Lovely.

That’s the word I used repeatedly Lord. It came naturally. Not forced. Just there. Like You! I sit here basking in the memory of it. People coming together because they wanted to. There was laughter. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-control. (Galatians 5:22)

Holy, Loving Lord, would You just look at that verse in The Message? “But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” How cool is that? Isn’t that exactly what I had prayed for yesterday?

Lord thank You! Thank You for the tremendous amount of loveliness You have provided to my life! Thank You for the opportunity to come out here this morning singing a song about things that are lovely. Associating it with Psalm 104 as well as Philippians 4:8 I am just amazed at Your goodness Lord. You are amazing. And I am again grateful.

♫Think, think, think on these things. Think on the things that are lovely. Think, think… Think on the things that are good♫ Most Holy God, thank You for reminding me of the things that really truly matter. You. Your Son. Your Holy Spirit working in our lives. Lovely things. Lovely times. Lovely days. Thank You Lord. I love You. Amen.

(339 words)

Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 25, 2010 (6:38 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

How I thank You Lord! You provide truth, hope, love. For a few days my heart was hurting. A small misunderstanding turned into a lot of gunk. I refused to care. I wouldn’t let go of my own way of thinking. But You were here with me through all of it. Harsh words and tones were squashed in difference to Your loving ways. I couldn’t care. Even when I wanted to, I chose hurt over healing. But yet You stayed. It truly was You at work opening the lines of communication. Thank You Lord!

Today is a national day of thanksgiving. Blessed Loving Lord in many ways it has turned into a day of overindulgence instead. I confess to struggling with it Lord.

Oh but how my heart [and face J] are smiling right now. Just as I was thinking of how things used to be, I remembered a devotion entitled “Removed, Not Improved” in The Life Recovery Bible. Related to Step Six [of the original twelve] regarding being ‘entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character’ it is tied to Romans 6:5-11. In turning to the page Lord, my smiles broaden. The title of this section is “Sin’s Power Is Broken”. How I thank You Lord.

Here too You remind me of the ways You are changing the way I see and do things. I used to be tied to the Norman Rockwell ideal of what holidays were supposed to look and be like. I wasted far too much time and energy attempting to create what I wanted them to be instead of just enjoying them for what they were – opportunities to be together with loved ones.

Most Dear and Bless Lord God, how I thank You for another day to live in the glory of Your love. I admit that I don’t often do that as well as I’d like. It’s a day like today when the unexpected wind is blowing a gale that I ask You for Your power and strength to accept today exactly as it plays out. Yes Lord. On this particular Thanksgiving Day when things have never been so different for us, I am asking for ‘the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference’.

Jeremiah 33:10-11 says, “The Lord declares that the happy voices of bridegrooms and of brides and the joyous song of those bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord will be heard again in this doomed land. The people will sing: ‘Praise the Lord! For He is good and His mercy endures forever!’ For I will make this land happier and more prosperous than it has ever been before.” NONE of this is possible without You!

It’s definitely not going to be a day like a Norman Rockwell painting. No Lord. It’s going to be REAL! And blessed. And whatever YOU make it. A day where we ‘go through Your open gates with great thanksgiving; enter Your courts with praise. Give thanks to You and bless Your name. For You the Lord are always good. You are always loving and kind, and Your faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation’ (Psalm 100).

And that’s exactly what this is Lord. A succeeding generation! Teach us to be so very much more like You and way less than our hopes of Mr. Rockwell’s depictions.

Beloved Lord God I love You so very much. On this particular day of giving thanks, how thankful I am that when all else is stripped away “There are three things that remain – faith, hope, and love – and the greatest of these is love” (1Corinthians 13:13). Thank You Father. I love You. Happy Thanksgiving! Amen.

(640 words ~ 8:42 a.m.)

gr... words

Wednesday, November 24, 2010 (7:38 a.m.)

Awesome God,

Thank You. Thank You that You let me get just as mad as I want to. You permit me to be willful and stubborn, stiff-necked and just plain unpleasant. Thank You that I even get to enter Your gates with grumbles [instead of thanksgiving] in my heart. You are going to just stand [or sit J] by and allow me to continue making this mountain of resentment out of the original molehill of misunderstanding until I finally come to the end of myself and turn to You instead.

Okay. I’m here. Grumps and growls and grumbles and all. Lord God how I thank You for this opportunity to come before You with all the negative gr... words I can possibly think of. Thank You that when I finally planned to come here and really give You the lowdown on my low mood the very first gr... word I came to was grace.

Wow God! That changes everything. Rather than choosing to continue in the negative vein I had fallen into I turn to You Dearest Lord asking Your forgiveness of my selfishness. Truly Lord, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! I look to You and quickly turn away with another grumble or growl. Tears fill my eyes as I declare my unworthiness, yet I don’t change my ways.

You are so good Dearest Lord. So perfect and wonderful. Please forgive me for taking You so much for granted.

I’ve been running away from caring about most things these days. I don’t want to care. There’s risk. My feelings might get hurt. The cost is too great.

Oh wow, would You just look at that. You gave Your very life for me and I completely withdraw from the price of potentially hurt feelings. You absolutely have Your work cut out for You Lord!

I don’t have hope anywhere but in You Lord. I can look around at all the external things. I can make up lists of things to do. But the real work needs to take place inside me Lord. YOU can change my heart and soul and mind and strength with each little flicker of truth You provide. Your truth. Your hope. Your grace.

Thank You Lord that even here You provide the hope and truth I need. ♫There is a balm in Gilead, To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead, To heal the sin-sick soul♫ (Jeremiah 8:22) And as though this isn’t enough there’s an early version of the chorus in “The Sinner’s Cure” by Washington Glass in The Revivalist, 1854. ♫How lost was my condition, Till Jesus made me whole; There is but one Physician Can cure a sin-sick soul… At length this great Physician How matchless is His grace Accepted my petition And undertook my case… Come then to this Physician His help He’ll freely give He makes no hard condition ’Tis only look and live There is a balm…♫ I can’t make myself care Lord. You can! Help me let You.

And even here Lord, in looking up the verse in Jeremiah (8:22) I read the verses before and found another gr... word. Verses 18 and 21, “My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken. I weep for the hurt of my people; I stand amazed, silent, dumb with grief.”

Ah, but even in my dumbed silence Lord, there is grace and hope for ♫There IS a balm in Gilead♫! Thank You Lord. Your gr... words are SO much better than mine! I love You. Thank You. Help me care today. Amen.

(596 words ~ 9:12 a.m.)