Yours

by Steven Curtis Chapman

I walk the streets of London
And notice in the faces passing by
Somthing that makes me stop and listen
My heart grows heavy with the cry

Where is the hope for London?
You whisper and my heart begins to soar
As I'm reminded
That every street in London in Yours
Oh, yes it is

I walk the dirt roads of Uganda
I see the scars that war has left behind
Hope like the sun is fading
They're waiting for a cure no one can find

And I hear children's voices singing
Of a God who heals and rescues and restores
And I'm reminded
That every child in Africa is Yours

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
You're the Maker and Keeper, Father and Ruler of everything
It's all Yours

And I walk the sidewalks of Nashville
Like Singapore, Manila and Shanghai
I rush by the beggar's hand and the wealthy man
And everywhere I look I realize

That just like the streets of London
For every man and woman, boy and girl
All of creation
This is our Father's world

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
You're the Maker and Keeper, Father and Ruler of everything

It's all Yours, God
It's all Yours, God
It's all Yours, God
It's all Yours, God

The glory is Yours, God
All the honor is Yours, God
The power is Yours, God
The glory is Yours, God

You're the King of Kings
And Lord of Lords

And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
From the stars in the sky
To the depths of the ocean floor
And its all Yours, God, Yours, God
Everything is Yours
All the greatness and power, the glory and splendor and majesty
Everything is Yours
Yeah, it's all Yours
We are Yours
The glory and honor is Yours, everything is Yours

It's all Yours, God
My life is Yours, my heart is Yours
My hands and my feet are Yours
Every song that I sing
It's all Yours, all is Yours
All belongs to You
Our gifts are Yours, God
All our dreams are Yours, God
All our plans are Yours, God
The whole earth is Yours, God
Everything is Yours

Oh yeah. . .

The Lord reminded me of something. Something He told me a long time ago.

Is not this the fast that I choose; to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke.

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your won flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, "Here I am." If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

Isaiah 58. 6-11

Come to Jesus!

Untitled Hymn by Chris Rice

Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

The Question Now

To find God's will for the rest of your life is to do God's will for the next 15 minutes.
-Adrian Rodgers

and Oswald Chambers said "Trust God, and do the next thing."

These last three months (yep, 3 months today) I've had so much to learn. So much learning to trust the Father when I can't see Him. And soo much prayer. Often asking the Lord what His will is for my life. But it really hasn't been something I can put into words clearly.

But you know how sometimes someone says something and you go "that's it, that's what I've been trying to put into words. That brings it all full circle" Well. . . that happened this week when I heard a sermon.

A few things that really stuck out to me:

God desires for me to follow His will so much that He lives in me to accomplish it.
My whole identity changed when Christ came into my life-my will is now lost in His. I have sacrificed the right to determine what is best for my life. (And with a Father who's so faithful I'm not sure why this thought scares us so much?)
New Testament Believers aren't seen trying to determine God's will after the Holy Spirit arrived. (No burning bush, no voice in the wind.)
He has the power to tell me exactly what to do, but maybe He's using the journey to teach me to trust the Christ in me.
Finding His will is secondary to what I've learned along the way.
When we are united with Him we have His desires and we are free to trust our passions. Trust Christ in me and then do what I know to do.
The Christian life is not trying to figure out what God's will is and then going to do it for Him. The Christian life is about trusting Christ to live for me.

The question now: "God what is your will for human history and how can I align myself w/ your will?"

The goal: to be so much in contact with God that I no longer need to ask His will. . . I am His will (Oswald Chambers)

Two Weeks in Africa

Caedmon's Call

Johannesburg to Capetown
The plane had barely touched down
She was taking photos for the friends back home
This was always where she felt her heart belonged
And she was finally here
The sky was bright and clear

Two weeks....
And we all can feel the calling
Two weeks...
To make the world a little smaller
And so a girl got on a plane
For two weeks in Africa

Johannesburg to Houston
She came home on a mountain
But school was starting, things kept moving on
Before you knew it, seven years had gone
She found a picture of her
Standing, smiling
Arms around the starving kids
She swore to not forget
She swore to not forget

And if we follow our dear sun
To where the stars are not familiar…

Faces turn to numbers
Numbers fall like manna from the sky
Why, oh why?
Oh Father, why?

One village in Malawi now has water running pure and clean
One church alive in Kenya’s full of truth and love and medicine
We put the walls up, but Jesus keeps them standing
He doesn’t need us, but He lets us put our hands in
So we can see
His love is bigger than you and me

transformation. . .

all in a days work.


the old me on the left, the new me on the right!

When I Fell in Love with You

by Dennis Jernigan

When I fell in love with You
I fell hard, what else could I do
You took the old and left me new
Then I fell in love with You

My heart broken, all hope lost
Cold and hard, ravaged, wounded, tossed
Heard Your love song from the cross
And then I fell in love with You

When I fell in love with You
You swept me off my feet
Washed me clean and made me new
In You I was made complete
When I fell in love with You
My heart embraced what You already knew
When I fell in love with You

Sin had bound me through and through
With every failure the darkness grew
Your love fell down with crimson hue
And then I gave my heart to You

You were waiting, Your love true
Me, debating just what to do
My heart was healed when You broke through
And then I fell in love with You

NYC Part 1 (hopefully)

Wow, what an adventure I had during my 24 hrs in NYC.

My plane was actually on time. Thank You Delta!

Upon arrival I noticed that there were several of New York's finest waiting outside. But I thought, hey, September 11 happened here. Maybe this is normal. Not so much. I turned around to notice a man being cuffed just as he came down the stairs off the plane. Now that doesn't leave a girl with a good feeling.

But the days wasn't over. The Lord blessed me by giving me a West African taxi driver. He's been all over West Africa and had lived in Abidjan while attending school. My heart, at home. . .


in Midtown Tunnel, a little nervous about the speed

Once I arrived at the hotel I had another adventure. Let's just say me and the orange club chair in the lobby had some quality time. But, I did have my first celebrity sighting. You know the little annoying guy on the Princess Bride? The one with the lisp? Well, he was staying at my hotel!

Once I was settled in my room I headed out for a little sight-seeing.

First stop, Rockefeller Center.


noting too exciting-I think they are getting ready for Christmas


I forgot I should try not to look as stressed as I actually was.

Then, what else, another celebrity sighting-as I was walking down 49th the crowd drew my attention to a film crew for Sex and the City. Apparently SJP was there, although I couldn't actually see her for the crowd. So I guess it wasn't technically a celebrity sighting.

Next stop, Times Square. I wasn't really sure what to do here with no money to spend. So, I just wandered.





On my way back to the hotel, I saw a really special store. And you'll never believe I didn't go in. :(



Once I was back at the hotel I got to really enjoy my perfectly fabulous room. Oh, and my $34 room service cheeseburger!


if anyone is interested, they actually sell the mattresses and sheets used in the hotel??


this is for Ruthie


me and my Madison Ave view

And then, the excitement of today!


all dressed up with somewhere very important to go


for posterity sake

The trip back was fairly uneventful. A few Venezuelans proclaiming VIVA CHAVEZ! Some turbulence. And the lady next to me really afraid of small planes.

And now, some rest. . .

Being (mostly) Unemployed

During this time in my life that I like to refer to as being "mostly unemployed" (after all there is the hair salon and the temp job at the Nazi prison camp) I've had a lot of ups and downs.

There've been places I liked, but obviously they didn't like me.
There've been places I didn't want to go and should've listened to my gut.
There've been those who've told me I'm "no one special."
And those who have told me my "resume is amazing."
There've been traffic tickets, ice cream treats with friends, lots of prayer, lots of phone calls, lots of emails with job links, and lots of tears.
There've been times where all I can do is worry. And times where all I do is trust.
Lots of things I don't understand.

And then, the moments that take my breath away.

God Grew Tired of Us

If you haven't seen this film yet, put it at the top of your list. It's the story of several of the Lost Boys from Sudan who were chosen to come to America. In this land of opportunity each day was a new struggle for them.



Not too many tears were shed, but a very good story.