on learning to wait

have you guys heard about oneword365 ?

its that time of year when we make resolutions right?

you know...

this year i'll lose that 10 lbs.

this year i'll start my own business.

this year i'll read through the bible. twice.

this year i'll get the job of my dreams.

this year i'll run that marathon.

this year i'll find the perfect pair of boots.

you know...all things that sound just fantastic.

but how long do these great plans last? really?

for me its usually about 10 minutes into January 1st.

but what if i planned to do just one thing. to focus on just one thing. all year. something that could have the power to change my life. something that could have the power to set me free.

what if i make my resolution one word.

one word to remember day in and day out for 365 days.

my one word for this year is:

wait

sounds easy, right? (we'll talk later about what a failure i am already)

you guys may not have this problem. but one of my major flaws is that i'm always looking forward to the next thing. never sitting still. never just living. always wanting to get to the next thing. convinced that whatever that thing is will be better than now.

so, i've decided to spend this next year waiting. this won't mean inaction. just a focus on the here and now. and learning in the here and now. and living in the here and now.

wanna participate, follow the link above and join in!

God my Maker, who gives songs in the night

job 35.10

ANY man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow—the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by—who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God's praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless He Himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon Him for the music. O Thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune Thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving.
C.H Spurgeon

colossians 1

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind,doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles arerthe riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

find me

HERE!

something new?

so, my neighbors keep using up all the hot water! (yes, I live in one of those buildings.) what's a hard working girl to do to get all the nasty germs from work off?

anyways, i've been kinda bored here lately. i can't talk about work, its against the law. i can't talk about school, cause you'd be grossed out and bored too. and my personal life, well, these days it makes me happier for it to stay personal :)

which all leads me to the fact that i'm thinking of doing something new. something that y'all might actually care about too. something fashion and beauty. interested??

Your Hands

just heard it...I love it!!

by JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That You would take my pain away
That You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crookedly lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands

When You walked upon the Earth
You healed the broken, lost, and hurt
I know You hate to see me cry
One day You will set all things right
Yea, one day You will set all things right

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave Your hands

Your hands
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still
Your hands that shape the world
Are holding me, they hold me still

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave You when...

When my world is shaking
Heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave...
I never leave Your hands

a new way to live

"just for today i will try to live through this day only, and not tackle all my problems at once. i can do something for 12 hrs that would appall me if i felt that i had to keep it up for a lifetime."

For I, the LORD, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
Malachi 3.6

living with me

this past week has been one of the hardest in my life. its put me on my face realizing how much I need help and healing in the deep dark recesses of Amber. I need time to work on myself. and the Lord is giving that to me. I won't go into details here...but, it's over. For now at least. My prayer is that in the Lord's timing we'll be ready. Or that He'll heal my broken heart...

and I don't want to trust Him. I'm just being honest. but I know I have to. He's the only one that will never walk away...

even more music

you've probably heard this before, I'm pretty sure it's pretty old...but doing my Bible study today brought this to mind, so...

He Is
Aaron Jeoffrey

In Genesis, He's the breath of Life 
In Exodus, the passover Lamb 
In Leviticus, He's our high priest 
Numbers, the fire by night 
Deuteronomy, He's Moses' voice 
In Joshua, He is salvation's choice 
Judges, Law giver 
In Ruth, the kinsman redeemer 
First and Second Samuel, our trusted prophet 
In Kings and Chronicles, He's sovereign 
Ezra, true and faithful scribe 
Nehemiah, He's the rebuilder of broken walls and lives 
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage 
In Job, the timeless redeemer 
In Psalms, He is our morning song 
In Proverbs, wisdom's cry 
Ecclesiastes, the time and season 
In the Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream 
He is, He is, He is 

In Isaiah, He's Prince of Peace 
Jeremiah, the weeping prophet 
In Lamentations, the cry for Israel 
Ezekiel, He's the call from sin 
In Daniel, the stranger in the fire 
In Hosea, He is forever faithful 
In Joel, He's the Spirits power 
In Amos, the arms that carry us 
In Obadiah, He's the Lord our Savior 
In Jonah, He's the great missionary 
In Micah, the promise of peace 
In Nahum, He is our strength and our shield 
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's pleading for revival 
In Haggai, He restores a lost heritage 
In Zechariah, our fountain 
In Malachi, He is the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings 
He is, He is, He is 

In Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, He is God, Man, Messiah 
In the book of Acts, He is fire from heaven 
In Romans, He's the grace of God 
In Corinthians, the power of love 
In Galatians, He is freedom from the curse of sin 
Ephesians, our glorious treasure 
Philippians, the servants heart 
In Colossians, He's the Godhead trinity 
Thessalonians, our coming King 
In Timothy, Titus, Philemon He's our mediator and our faithful Pastor 
In Hebrews, the everlasting covenant 
In James, the one who heals the sick. 
In First and Second Peter, he is our Shepherd 
In John and in Jude, He is the lover coming for His bride 
In the Revelation, He is King of Kings and the Lord of Lords 
He is, He is, He is 

The prince of peace 
The Son of man 
The Lamb of God 
The great I am 
He's the alpha and omega 
Our God and our Savior 
He is Jesus Christ Lord and when time is no more 
He is, He is