Archive for the Category »Living with God «
I sit on a tattered bench of green long gone.
I look out at this garden where for two weeks I belong.
Palms and ferns, flowers & more.
Stand and wave in the wind of no more.
My bags to the left, birds watch up above.
This is peace . . . a moment I love.
DISCOVER’s begun and we head home.
Amazed, in mercy I roam.
Lisa Bruder, from Germany performs the song she wrote for the Girl’s “I am a Princess” meetings in November, 2009!
I am a Princess by: Lisa Bruder 2009
Verse 1:
D A2 (Dmaj7)
Lord, you’ve created me.
G C D
You formed my heart and gave me life.
D A2 (Dmaj7)
And you’ve made me beautiful.
G C
You know my heart and everything I am.
Chorus:
A2 D A2 G
Now I can run into your arms.
D A2 G
And you crown me with your love
D A2 Bm7 G
Cause I’m a child of the Highest King
C D
I am a Princess – I am a princess.
Verse 2:
D A2 (Dmaj7)
I can find love in you.
G C D
Find peace in you and everything I need for life.
D A2 (Dmaj7)
And I’m made complete in you.
G C
You satisfy me and you make me whole
Bridge:
Em7 G
You are my father, and you are my Daddy.
Em7 C A2
Now I can say: I belong to you – I belong to YOU!
I am back to the title iTRUST, because to trust or not is always my choice. It is good to hear all the “WE” stories of a great God, but I still need to be the one that trusts. No one can trust God for me.
As a child my father had verses hanging all over his truck. Sometimes they covered almost everything except his view forward. One verse he seemed to always have hanging was Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
I read this and wonder how possible that is? All my heart is a lot! It is easy to trust God with my salvation and to get me to heaven, and even when everything is going great, but what about the other stuff. Relationships, money, struggles, a friend gets hurt or dies my dream comes crashing in around me . . . my heart is huge. Can I or will I trust the LORD with all my heart?
My heart is my desire. In who’s hands do I place my desires? Usually my own. But what if all of that was in the LORD or master of my life’s hands?
Then it hits my understanding. This takes trust from my heart to my head. I like to figure everything out. I like to think, solve problems, know what’s up with me and others. I often lean very much on what I know. But doesn’t that rob God of leading us? What if I still thought a lot, but the lean of my life, choices, speech, plans were upon the LORD. If I really trusted him would he forget to show up or lead?
“All my ways” is a whole bunch of ways. When I get up, what I eat, who I talk to or pass by, the way I talk, the places I go, the stories I tell, what I put into my mind . . . everything I do make up “All my ways.” SO what if I trusted the LORD enough to say, lead me. Wake me, Take me, Turn me, Stop me and Start me. I acknowledge you as important in every area. Wow would that change life.
Then the closer . . . He will make your paths straight. DO I WANT THAT MUCH CONNECTION TO GOD? That He makes my paths instead of me, He becomes LORD?
So back to trust . . . do I?
Today is PRAYER DAY . . . a day to PROCESS . . . @ GO Conference, before the 400 of us head out into different places in the whole world . . . This was the focus song for us today, a great help for me!
Steve Ellis (pictured here on the left) has only been playing guitar now for 4 weeks. He has really fallen in love with playing it, and finds it really relaxing, especially after a long day. He is our insurance man.
This week as we were preparing for worship for Sunday morning in our church, we realized that we had me able to lead with my guitar, Dan on the bongos, Todd on the drums, and Sherryl on the piano, and other singers, but no back up guitar. Steve has been doing so well picking up new songs and rhythms, that he was up to the challenge.
During our Thursday lesson this week, I presented him with 5 new songs, that’s right 5 new songs. He knew all the chords (except A) and mostly knew the songs, and I felt he was up to the challenge. I thought I would try him out with the songs. Amazingly he was able to play along. I gave him the challenge to practice them all and just play the ones he felt comfortable with.
He showed up this morning before the service for our practice with his stool to sit on and a smile on his face. He said he was ready with 3 of them. After practice, Dan encouraged him to just go for them all, and turn his volume down on the ones he wasn’t as comfortable with.
He did a great job. I am so excited to be a part of the lives of the 6 guitar students I have presently. I have 3 more already to start up in September when we are back from Europe. It is wonderful to share this gift of playing the guitar and influence others to worship God in this way too!
When I think of a person who hears GOD’S VOICE the clearest and most often . . . I think of my Dad, TIMOTHY THOMAS. So I asked him to write a mini article for this week on HOW TO HEAR GOD’S VOICE. Try to put these principles from 1 Corinthians 10:13 into practice . . . and don’t forget to BE OBEDIENT TO WHAT YOU HEAR . . . immediately.
1 CORINTHIANS 10:13
“There has no temptation taken you but what is common to man. God is faithful; He will not allow you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But will with the temptation offer you a way of escape so that you can stand up under it.”
Everyone is tempted, (even Jesus was). Don’t let the tempter deceive you into thinking you are the only one going through this trial. So temptation is not sin, because Jesus was tempted but he never sinned. Sin comes when we give in to temptation.
God is faithful, he knows exactly how much we can handle and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear. So we can never say, “it was just too much for me”.
NOW HERE IS THE PROMISE OF HEARING GOD’S VOICE:
He will, with the temptation, offer you a way of escape.
EVERY TIME YOU ARE TEMPTED, YOU HEAR GOD’S VOICE!
He is offering you a way of escape. Obeying His voice takes you out of the temptation, AND, His voice becomes clearer.
Soon, you realize that He has been talking to you all the time, you just didn’t recognize that it was God talking to you.
So choose today to begin to listen and obey, he will make you stronger and you will start to KNOW what His plan is for your life. This seems too simple, but begin now, we all get lots of opportunity to practice.
tJt