Listening

"Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem lookin for Him. Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were amazed at His understandig and His answers." Luke 2:41-47

"Listening." I'm so thankful that Christ not only speaks, He also listens. We don't know if God allowed the twelve-year-old Christ to exercise His full omniscience or to unleash just enough wisdom to astound His listeners. But I love the fact that Christ still listens-----not just to learn, since He knows all things. Rather, He allows us to pour out our hearts because He loves us and wants to hear us." ~ Beth Moore

"O Lord Jesus, just as during Your early life You offered prayers and appeals to the Father with loud cries and tears-----and were heard because of Your reverance and submission (Heb. 5:7)-----I pray that I too would come before You in perfect trust, knowing that You always live to intercede for us." (Heb. 7:25)

Midnight Musings

Welp here it is 2:30AM and I am wide awake. I do not know what the purpose of all this insomnia is, but I am trying to make the most of it........I know that most of you have probably never heard of Meredith Andrews' music, but I had the privilege of discoverig it at an Aaron Shust concert I went to where she along with Brandon Heath opened the show. To say that her music has blessed me would be an understatement. As I sit here typing this I am listening to my favorite song of hers "Draw Me Nearer" that I posted the lyrics for on here a while back. Anyway, God has gifted this woman greatly and her music is poweful and a great blessing. If you ever get the chance to check it out, you should, her album is called "The Invitation" and is available online or at most Chrstian bookstores. A song of hers that has blessed me tonight is called "The New Song We Sing" and is surprise, surprise about redemption, my favorite subject! I thought I would share it with you.......

"You are the God who reconciles the wayward heart through Christ. The old has gone, the new has come, we are reconciled by love, We are reconciled by love

And this is the new song we sing To the king of heaven This is the new song we bring After all you’ve given We stand before you redeemed As your children This is the new song we sing

We who were once so far away are brought near by Your blood The barrier has been destroyed By Your grace we freely come, by Your grace we freely come

We live in You, we live for you We live to you our king We stand in You, we stand for You We stand as your redeemed ‘Your redeemed!’

REDEMPTION

My devotional from Beth Moore's book "JESUS, 90 Days With the One and Only" was on redemption, my favorite topic, so I thought I would share some of the Scriptures and thoughts with you..........

"The Word made flesh first entered the temple wrapped in a baby blanket. His earthly parents lifted Him to His Father and, in essence, purchased Him from heaven------for a while-------for a lost world. One day that baby would buy them from earth for the glory of heaven. Wow!"

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich." Second Corinthians 8:9

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and wordly desires, and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to REDEEM us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." Titus 2:11-14

"The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgements of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether." Psalm 19:8-9

What a hope we have in Jesus!

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

~ Chris Tomlin

Thankful

I am thankful for so many different things this Thanksgiving.....but I honestly think that what I am thankful for the most is the hope and assurance of eternity in heaven with Jesus.....what a promise, what a gift!

GLORIOUS DAY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcEnb4VNggw

"One day when heaven
Is filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to
Be born of a virgin
Dwelt among man, my example is He

[Chorus:]

Living He loved me
Dying He saved me
Buried He carried my sin far away
Rising He justifies
Freely forever
One day He's coming
Oh, Glorious Day
Oh, Glorious Day

One day they led Him
Up calvaries mountain
One day they nailed Him
To die on a tree
Suffering anguish
Despised and rejected
Carrying my sins, my redeemer is He

[Chorus]

One day the grave could seal Him no longer
One day the sorrow waved from the door
Then He arose
Oh death He had conquered
Now my sin is ended
My Lord forever more

[Chorus]

One day the trumpet will
Sound for His coming
One day the sky with His
Glories will shine"

Wonderful day
My beloved will bring
Glorious Savior,Jesus is mine"

Unbelievably Blessed

Do you ever feel overwwhelmed by all the ways God has blessed you? I am in awe of the way that God holds onto me and never lets go, even when the dark times come. I am also amazed at the awesome people He has brought into my life that have more than blessed it. Lastly I am AMAZED at how He provides for my needs, not just physically, but emotionally, and spritually as well. We serve and endlessy kind and gracious King, and I am overjoyed and overwhelmed wih gratitude to be a part of His family!

Sleep Anyone?

Here I sit sipping my hot chocolate, wondering if sleep is going to come tonight.....

A Persevering Worshipper

"The heart of God loves a persevering worshipper, who though overwhelmed by many things in life, is overwhelmed more by the beauty of God."

"Joyful worship is not based on your circumstances; It is based on the overwhelming joy of knowing God, being loved and forgiven by Him and having the privilege of serving Him in return."

Poem

A dear woman at my old church wrote this poem and gave it to me a few weeks back and it has been an unbelievable encouragement and blessing to me. I pray it is the same for you! :-)

" My Saviour, My Friend
Come sit with Me, He says, and talk
I have great stories to tell;
Or walk with me, I'll show you
Awesome things I've made
Or laugh with me as we rest
In the garden's shade
Or cry: And I'll catch your broken heart
And hold the pieces as it falls apart
Then I'll be the succor for your pain
'til you're revived, then we
Will walk and talk again."

** The word succor means: timely aide in distress

Faith

".....That is why faith is such a necessary virtue: Unless you teach your moods 'where they get off', you can never be either a sound Christian, or even a sound atheist, but just a creature dithering to and fro, with it's beliefs really dependant on the weather and the state of it's digestion. Consequently, one must train the habit of faith. The first step is to recognize the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of it's main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers, religious readings, and church going are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed.
~ C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

A Baby's Prayer

http://www.youtube.com/v/oEoBm8sQe3s&hl=en"

I can hear her talking with a friend
I think it's all about me
Oh how she can't have a baby now
My mommy doesn't see
That I feel her breathe, I know her voice
Her blood, it flows through my heart
God you know my greatest wish is that
We'd never be apart
But if I should die before I wake
I pray her soul you'll keep
Forgive her Lord, she doesn't know
That you gave life to me
Do I really have to say goodbye
Don't want this time to be through
Oh please tell her that I love her Lord
And that you love her too
Cause if I should die before I wake
I pray her soul you'll keep
Forgive her Lord, she doesn't know
That you gave life to me
On the days when she may think of me
Please comfort her with the truth
That the angels hold me safe and sound
Cause I'm in Heaven with you
I'm in Heaven with you

~ Kathy Troccoli

Sweet Peyton

My Chocolate Lab, Peyton was hit by a car and killed this morning. She wasn't even 2 yet. :-( I am biased of course, but she was an AMAZING dog. Every day when I would come home from work, she would excitedly greet me at the door. If I was ever upset, she would lick my face, and every night she slept in my sister and I's room, ususally in one of our beds. :-P I've had her since she was just eight weeks old. If I had to describe her in one word, it would be loving. She was an extremely loving dog. To say that my family and I are going to miss her would be an understatement. Now I know why they call dogs a man's best friend.

"Give Me Your Eyes"

="http://www.youtube.com/v/G3sQ3NEqFdg&hl=en

Looked down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
For those far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the once forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
again
again
yeah
yeah

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work
He's buying time
Are those people going somewhere?
Why have I never cared?

Ive Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just moving past me by
I swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance
So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone

Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken hearted
For those far beyond my reach?
Give me Your heart for the once forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see
again
again
yeah
yeah

The Next Step

Well here I am......I've been wide awake since 2AM. I have been battling insomnia since last August. :-( I can't complain though because it has become a LOT less frequent since then, and the LORD has provided what i need to continue working and to make it through each day inspite of my exhaustion.

I read this today and was blessed.......

THE NEXT STEP

".......I view our spiritual journey as just taking the next step. I find that hard. I want to know the whole game plan. I want to know what roads I will be on, where they will take me, how long it will take and when it will happen. But as a follower of Christ, all I have to do is take the next step.
Some of the steps are confusing to me. They don't look as if they are leading forward, and I get frustrated and impatient. When that happens, I have to remind myself of two things: God is in control and He has promised to complete the work He began in me. He may not do that in ways that make sense to me, but I have His promise that what He began, He will finish. All I have to do is take the next step. "

Lord,
When the road ahead is dark, be my light.
When the path is rough and stony, be my guide.
When the wind is fierce and in my face,
When the world is such a barren place,
Lead me on,
Lead me on,
Lead me on,
Amen.

~Sheila Walsh ~ Gifts For Your Soul

Memorial Day

To say that I had a wonderful Memorial Day would be an understatement! I got to see the sunrise this morning as I listened to Meredith Andrew's songs, "You Invite Me In" and "The River," what a blessing! I got to take my dog Peyton for a two hour walk in this GORGEOUS weather! Then I had breakfast with the fam as well as some members of my "adopted" extended family ;-). After that, I was off to spend a few hours with my dear, dear friends, the O'Hara family which is ALWAYS a great time of encouragement and blessing! I am SO sad that they are moving back to Fresno, California in less than 8 weeks now! I shall have to relocate to the West Coast, at least for a while! haha. Let's see, after that I hung out with one of my dearest friends Jessi, and ate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream from Mannings! :-) YUM.....and then it was off to WIRED (My single Bible Study Group's) picnic at Kellie's house. Great day full of friends, fun and blessed fellowship! :-) :-) :-) Thank You Father!

GIFTS FOR YOUR SOUL - WAIT FOR GOD -

Welp, here it is, 4:30AM and I am WIDE AWAKE :-(. I decided to make use of my "extra" awake time and read and write down some thoughts from the daily devotional I am reading by Sheila Walsh. I was really blessed by what I read, and thought I might share some of it with you! It is called........
WAIT FOR GOD

"All human love bears within it the seed of betrayal; it is a failure of love........

"When Judas who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the cheif priests and elders. 'I have sinned,' he said. 'For I have betrayed innocent blood.'"
~Matthew 27:3-4

"What lay under that act of betrayal? Perhaps a deep thirst to right all wrongs now, to grasp hold of justice with his own two hands and pull it into his world.
I see Judas's life as one that spoke of impatience. I see a deep thirst for more than the life he had lived as a young man.......Deep within his soul he was thirsty for a different life, but he wasn't willing to wait for the "something more" that Christ would offer.

Even in the end, after the betrayal, Judas could not hold on. Now he stood with the rope in his hands, clenching the tool that would end his miserable life. His heart thundered in his ears, his stomach retched. What a fool he had been. His mind treated him to a picture show of a thousand memories that had brought him to this moment. He felt he had no choice but to end the life that had tipped the first domino for someone else. He could not bear to think of Jesus now. He could not bring himself to watch what he had participated in. He threw the rope over a sturdy branch.......But if he had waited three more days He would have seen Christ risen from the dead."

" When we abandon ourselves to hopelessness, we remove ourselves from Christ, our only hope.......Augustine said that our hearts are restless until they rest in God, but we try all sorts of things to still that pounding in our heads and the ache in our souls."

"There is no doubt that what Judas did was the ultimate act of betrayal, but I think of the words of Jesus on the cross: 'Father forgive them for the know not what they are doing.' I wonder if Judas was one of the people on His mind."

"Our impatience to have God move now, to act in ways that make sense to us, will drive us to take control of our lives. God is moving in ways that we cannot see or understand. This means we are left with the question, 'Do I trust Him?' We can choose to bow the knee now and ask Him to forgive us for trying to squeeze the answer we want out of heaven, or we will bow the knee later in remorse at our foolishness in thinking that we knew better than God."

"We are all thirsty in different ways, deep down in our souls. It is a thirst as ancient as the hills. But it is a thirst that can be satisfied only in Christ."

~Sheila Walsh

Lord,
Forgive us for our impatience.
In our restlessness give us peace.
In our impatience give us hope.
In our thirst for You refresh us, we pray
Amen.

My New Favorite Verses!

Ephesians 6:19&20

"....Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should."

"With Hope" by SCC, in honor of his precious daughter Maria

>http://www.youtube.com


This is not at all how We thought it was supposed to be
We had so many plans for you
We had so many dreams
And now you've gone away
And left us with the memories of your smile
And nothing we can say
And nothing we can do
Can take away the pain
The pain of losing you, but ...

We can cry with hope
We can say goodbye with hope
'Cause we know our goodbye is not the end, oh no
And we can grieve with hope
'Cause we believe with hope
(There's a place by God's grace)
There's a place where we'll see your face again
We'll see your face again

And never have I known Anything so hard to understand
And never have I questioned more The wisdom of God's plan
But through the cloud of tears
I see the Father's smile and say well done
And I imagine you Where you wanted most to be
Seeing all your dreams come true
'Cause now you're home And now you're free, and ...

We have this hope as an anchor
'Cause we believe that everything God promised us is true,
so ... We wait with hope And we ache with hope
We hold on with hope We let go with hope

Thoughts

I just started reading a book by Sheila Walsh called "Gifts For Your Soul." I am only four brief chapters in, and I have already been very blessed, challenged, convicted and encouraged. Here are some thoughts on gratitude that have really stuck with me....

"We all have losses in our lives. But if we choose to feast on them every day, they numb our souls to the good with which God has gifted us."

"You hace a choice. You can spend your life being angry at what you did not get out of life or you can count your blessings for what you have."

"We can choose to remain in a sleepy sluggish state regretting what is not, or we can become alive and fully awake to what is good and true about our lives."

"Cultivating gratitude removes us from being victims to being free to love and act as we are called to do"

"I know that life can be hard sometimes, and I encourage you to take time to grieve your losses, but do not be defined by them. Use them by the grace and strength of God as stepping stones to a deeper life, a life of peace, a life lived with a thankful heart."

Captivate Us......the prayer of my heart!

I heard this song for the first time today and it gave me goosebumps, what a beautiful prayer. I pray it blesses you as much as it did me!

value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zIJR0h6BDTY&hl=en

Your face is beautiful
And Your eyes are like the stars
Your gentle hands have healing
There inside the scars
Your loving arms they draw me near
And Your smile it brings me peace
Draw me closer oh my Lord
Draw me closer Lord to Thee

Captivate us, Lord Jesus
Set our eyes on You
Devastate us with Your presenceFalling down
And rushing river, draw us nearer
Holy fountain consume us with You
Captivate us Lord Jesus, with You

Your voice is powerful
And Your words are radiant bright
In Your breath and shadow
I will come close and abide
You whisper love and life divine
And Your fellowship is free
Draw me closer O my Lord
Draw me closer Lord to Thee

Captivate us, Lord Jesus
Set our eyes on You
Devastate us with Your presence
Falling downAnd rushing river,
Draw us nearer Holy fountain
Consume us with You
Captivate us Lord Jesus, with You

Let everything be lost in the shadows
Of the light of Your face
Let every chain be broken from me
As I’m bound in Your grace
For Your yoke is easy,
Your burden is light
You’re full of wisdom, power and might
And every eye will see You

Captivate us, Lord Jesus
Set our eyes on You
Devastate us with Your presenceFalling down
And rushing river, draw us nearer
Holy fountain consume us with You
Captivate us Lord Jesus, with You

Oh so tuckered out.....

This past week was an AMAZING week for me inspite of battiling severe insomnia since Wednesday night. Thankfully, I have an apt. with my Doctor tomorrow, so hopefully we will be able to figure this all out. I can't complain though, because I've gone from having insomnia, EVERY single night, to having it only 6-7 nights out of the month, so we are making progress! Thank you LORD!
As only HE can, God has just poured out His grace and strength to make it through the work week. Humanly speaking, it makes absolutely no sense. I shared a testimony in church yesterday about what a blessing the previous week had been, and my Pastor joked that if I was that excited when running on two hours of sleep per night, imagine what I would be like with 7 or 8! :-) Being a child of God is SUCH an exciting and incredible gift that is so completely undeserved. I can't help singing and shouting HIS praise as Chris Tomlin says in my favorite song of his. We do indeed serve a GREAT GOD, and I am so humbled and in awe of the fact that I get to be His child! God bless your day today! ~Mel

Trip To Lancaster.....

Ok, so I posted a bunch of pics from our trip to Lancaster last weekend, but they posted in the opposite order I wanted them to.....so if you just scroll ALL the way down (past the About Me section,) and start at they very LAST picture, the captions should make sense! :-P

New

I am new to this blog spot thing and this is my first official post......hello!