"One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple."

Psalm 27:4

 

One thing, just one out of a million other things, David asks that he could dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life. Why?

 

1. To gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.

 

To gaze. Just gaze upon the beauty of our wonderful Lord and King.

 

Gaze: To look intently or with fixed attention. A steady fixed look.

 

And to gaze all the days of his life...

 

Beauty: A pleasing quality associated with harmony of form or color, excellence of craftsmanship, truthfulness, originality, or another, often unspecifiable property.

 

Unspecifiable property... How great is our God!

 

2. To seek him in his temple.

 

Seek: To try to locate or discover; search for.

 

Discover our God. I don't know if this is completely possible, but as we discover more about Him (by searching for Him), we fall more in love with Him. We intently look, we gaze, we search, we discover that unspecified property and fall in love with Him all over again. How many people in our world today need to just fix their gaze on the beauty of the Lord? How many need to earnestly seek Him? And if they did, what do you think the result would be? And more importantly, do you need to fix your gaze, seek, and discover that beauty? What would happen if you did it on a regular basis? How about you stop reading this and try. I guarantee that you will be completely changed, you will fall in love, and you will never be sorry you did.

 



My Red Bird

 

The bird that God has sent to three different places that I have lived.

 

Ya know...the one I wrote about here and here

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday I am especially thankful for

1. Peanut butter cookies homemade by Mom
2. Callouses on fingers so playing my fiddle no longer hurts (on that part anyways ;))
3. Words from my Creator's heart
4. Determination
5. The power of one's testimony
6. The amazing picture of humility in action I got to see this past weekend
7. Getting to see Shane & Shane preform live this last Monday
8. His grace
9. The Holy Spirit
10. This song: (Oh How I Need You)

What are YOU thankful for this Thursday?...

The clock is ticking...

       This last weekend we went on a short trip to our old town. We saw friends, heard testimonies, and had a great time. We have lived in our new city for two years now. We have lived in our new house now for one year. How time does fly...I am now in high school (still homeschooling). Caleb is about to turn two and fall is right around the corner. Our time here on earth is so short and fleeting. What should we do with every year we are given? What should we do with every month, every week, every day? What about the hours, the minutes, and the seconds? We were made for more than just to eat, play (mostly with handheld devices or get brainwashed by television), be comfortable, get what you want, get the glory, and die. We are descended from someone who God breathed the breath of life into. God formed him with His own hands and  probably said or was thinking something like this: "Ah! I have a plan for you and it is going to be amazing!" The same God who formed Adam formed you. The same God who had a plan for Adam has a plan for you. And when Adam disobeyed and God's original plan was jolted, He designed a rescue plan. A man, God's son, took the penalty of death that you deserved..."Real love is not afraid to bleed." (Rend Collective Experiment: The Cost) God chose love, but He is a just God so someone without sin had to die. Jesus took the nails for you, he took the nails for me. And still we step out of His rescue plan. He ascended up to heaven and sent us His Holy Spirit, the counselor. He works in the hearts of men and is desperately trying to save his lost sheep. God made us a promise, He said that He would come back for us, come back for His love. The angles are being lined up, God is calling his people, and the horn is about to blow. Jesus is just waiting for God to give the command to go. They are waiting, all is still, but we are not all saved. And when they come, they are coming in justice and the ones who have not heard, and the ones who have rejected Him, will be lost forever. The neighbor next door is crying, your boss or school teacher has his head in his hands, the lost and broken and near and far, the day is near, how many will be lost? Time is ticking and the horn is about to blow, it's time to embrace what you were made for, time to make your Savior known. We were made to love and worship God with all our heart, and with every fiber of our being. And when you love someone that much, you can't help but make sure that everyone knows about Him. Christine Caine says something like this: "When an army goes into battle, they obey the last order the commander gave. Us being the body of Christ, I believe we should be obsessed with Jesus' last command..."

    "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Matthew 28:18-20

     And to teach His commands, don't we also need to follow and know them? The students will not multiply as a step of division if the teacher skips that step every time she divides.

Click on the link below to go to an amazing dance. Just take 6 mins and watch this. When I watched it, I felt the Holy Spirit ministering to me through it. I saw it live last year and have watched it many times...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIA1qcbazmA

"Jesus wrecked my life"

"You see, Jesus wrecked my life." -Katie Davis (Kisses From Katie)

Imagine a boat full of fishermen. They fished for a living. They were smelly and dirty. They were empty inside. Then a man walked by their boat one day and said "Come, follow me." But this man was no ordinary man, this man was Jesus, and he filled them. Something about him beckoned them to them. It wasn't physical appearance or social stature, it was who He was. And suddenly they saw how empty their life was. They saw that what they once thought was good, wasn't, and before they saw that it wasn't good, Jesus had to call them out of it. He had to wreck their lives.

This is just one summary, of many stories. Peter, John, Paul, James, Mary Magdalene and many, many more lives were wrecked by Jesus...for the better. They didn't one day come up with this inspiration to do the things that they did. Jesus called them to it, but first he had to wreck their lives. They were living empty, dirty, broken lives that looked good to them, but then Jesus called them out of it. But first, He had to wreck their lives.

Sometimes when we are in a hard situation or a hard season in our life and we wonder, why do I have to go through this? Why can't life just be a little bit easier? But easier isn't better. In fact, Jesus said no to easy, and he said yes to hard. What if Jesus is wrecking your life right now? Your life looks good to you now. You have a nice car, a nice house, a good job and you don't want anything to change. Or maybe you are pursuing Jesus' will for your life and what He has given you looks good to you right now, but it isn't His ultimate plan for your life. But good isn't best. A lot of Satan's traps look "good," but they really are not. What if Jesus is in the process of wrecking your life. You are feeling it. You are hurting, and you are sweating, and the weight is more than you can bear. But see that's the point...we can't bear the weight of it on our own. If we could do it on our own, then why would we need Jesus? When we are weak, He is made strong! When He is wrecking our lives, it's hard, but in the end it is more than worth it. He is more than worth it. Do you think it was easy for the Disciples to become the Disciples? Do you think it was easy for Saul to become Paul? Do you think it is easy for the world changers today to do what they do? Do you think it was easy to get to that point? No. It wasn't easy, it was beyond hard, but it was worth it.

"I no longer have the things the world says are important. I do not have a retirement fund; I do not even have electricity some days. But I have everything I know is important. I have a joy and a peace that are unimaginable and can come only from a place better than this earth. I cannot fathom being happier. Jesus wrecked my life, shattered it to pieces, and put it back together more beautifully."

- Katie Davis (Kisses From Katie)

True Satisfaction

We live in a world and culture that embraces things that try to fill a void inside that longs for something.  No matter what we try that this world has to offer, we are not satisfied. We always want more of "this" or "that." A common thing to say is, "If I only had that I would be happy." Then the next day when we get the "thing" we find that if only we could get that other thing we could really be truly happy. This pattern goes on in a downward spiral from there. When will our world be satisfied?  When will this madness of accumulating stuff stop?  When will people awaken from their deathly sleep and see truth?  I fear the answer may be never if the ones who have seen the light will not stop and live by God's Word. What is true satisfaction?  What is true happiness?  When will the void inside the hearts of men and women be filled to the full?

1. sat·is·fy  

   /ˈsatisˌfī/
   

   Verb Meet the expectations, needs, or desires of (someone). Fulfill (a desire or need).

   Synonyms gratify - please - content - fulfill - fulfill - meet

 There is only one who can satisfy. Only one who can really bring true joy. And that satisfaction and joy is found in trials and hardships. It seems like a contradiction...but is it? Mediocrity is ruling the thoughts and actions of America's heart, and because of this we are not satisfied. True love is found when it saves you when you are in the deepest pain and hardship. True joy is found when it is discovered when tears are running down your face. True satisfaction is found in God when you have nothing left to give. There is a God, the true God who is just waiting to capture your heart and bring you into the biggest love story that ever was, ever is, and ever will be. He is waiting to satisfy your heart. He is waiting to fill that empty void inside of you. He is waiting, he is knocking, he is trying to get your attention, but he won't force you to except his love. How will you respond?...

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."
- John Piper

The Cost

                                                 by Rend Collective Experiment

I'm saying yes to You

And no to my desires

I'll leave myself behind

And follow You

I'll walk the narrow road

'cause it leads me to You

I'll fall but grace 

Will pick me up again

I've counted up the cost

Oh I've counted up the cost

Yes I've counted up the cost

And You are worth it

I do not need safety

As much as I need You

You're dangerous

But Lord You're beautiful

I'll chase You through the pain

I'll carry my cross

'cause real love

Is not afraid to bleed

Jesus 

Take my all

Take my everything

I've counted up the cost

And You're worth everything