Last week, James and I went on vacation. Originally, we were going to go to Florida
with my cousin but things got a little crazy and we decided to go to Branson
instead by ourselves. Cameron had other
commitments so he stayed home. I was
finally going to have enough alone time to do some song writing…I brought my
keyboard and all kinds of other notebooks and “stuff” I thought I might need; I
really didn’t have high expectations, I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing
but on Saturday morning after I unpacked and had my quiet time I sat down and
began. I had written some lyrics while I
was sick a while back…back when I had a moment to be still. So I poured over the lyrics to a part of a
song I had written called “Be Still”; it really was the story of my life,
always being distracted and busy and never “still” enough. It was based on Psalm 46:10 “Be still and
know that I am God”. The music – lyrics
and chord progressions came pouring out of me and after a few hours I had a
complete song. Well, at least a song
with all the main parts…I could play it for myself and sing it. I was simply awe struck, God is so good to
me. Day 1 and I already had a song. I recorded it and sent it to a couple
friends, I played it for James - much to his surprise (because he didn’t expect
much either) but no one was as surprised as I was and am. That night a lady I didn’t know texted me
about some Alaskan missionaries at her church there in Branson, she said she
thought we were supposed to attend her church the next morning and meet
them. So, we did. If you read my previous post you know that I
bawled through at least half of the service, it was an amazing day. Sunday afternoon I wrote my second song. Tuesday, I wrote another. What was happening to me? God was turning me into a song writer! The song I wrote Tuesday was called “Great is
Your Faithfulness”…He really is faithful.
Tuesday morning we met with an old friend of James’ from back in high
school. She is a songwriter and happened
to be in Springfield the week we were in Branson. She is a wealth of knowledge and gave me so
much advice and instruction on where to go from here. God’s timing is perfect, He has a plan. It was a wonderful week, I wept a lot and
grew closer to my Lord. Below are some
things I wrote down each morning.
April 23,
2016
Galatians
1:24 “And they glorified God because of me.”
This is my desire, that people would glorify God because of me. I want God to use me to bring people to faith
in Him and to worship Him.
Lord Jesus, help me use the gifts You’ve given me to honor You and to
show people who You are that they may fall on their face and glorify You, that
they would sell out to You with all that they are. May they glorify You because of me, because
I’m living with abandon, following Your will, and pointing them to You. Keep me humble, holy and righteous. May you be first in every area of my life and
may I boldly display that. Thank You,
Jesus for this opportunity to serve You.
You are glorious and worthy of all praise. I love You.
Amen
I wrote a song today, it’s called “Be Still”. It’s based on Psalm 46:10 “Be Still and know
that I am God”. I am simply in awe that
God allows me to serve Him in this way.
Singing, playing piano, and now writing music. Incredible, amazing, He is truly wonderful
and worthy of much more than anything I have to offer. What a blessing it is to be His child and to
serve Him.
April 24,
2016
Galatians
2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live
by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
When I surrendered my life to
Christ, I gave up living for myself.
There are times when the Spirit battles the flesh but my life is no
longer ruled by the flesh if I stay in the Word and in close fellowship with
Jesus.
Jesus, help me today to live by
faith, to put away any selfish ambitions and live for You, for Your will and
for Your Glory alone. Thank you for
giving Yourself up for me so I could have a relationship with You. Thank You for what You are doing right now in
my life. Help me not take one moment for
granted and to be constantly in awe and wonder of who You are. Thank you for this journey however short or
long it is. You make what seems
impossible possible, I am grateful.
Praise Your holy name. I love
you, Jesus. Amen.
April 25,
2016
Galatians
3:28-29 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there
is no male and female, for You are all one in Christ Jesus. And if You are Christ’s, then you are
Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Do the offenders in prison
really know how loved they are, how God wants to free them with the
power of the gospel and have an intimate relationship with them? I want them to know this, I want them to see
that they/we are all one in Christ.
Lord, use me in this mission
field to show Your love for these, incarcerated men and women. Humble me, give me words when I have none,
silence when none are needed and love so powerful that it cannot be denied it’s
from You. Help me stay focused and not
let the world crowd in and distract me from this calling. All for Your glory, Lord. Thank You, Jesus, for this time, this
journey, this incredible way to serve You and to make You known. I love You, Jesus. Amen.
Let our lives reflect You.
April 26,
2016
Galatians
5:16-17 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of
the flesh. For the desires of the flesh
are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh,
for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want
to do.”
Spirit vs. Flesh – this is
sometimes a tough battle. I find myself
sold out to the Spirit and ready to jump off a cliff into unknown possibilities
and then other times find myself desiring comfort and “so called” stability. And I forget, I forget that God’s ways are higher
than my ways, that He has this all figured out and that His plan is the best
plan. I simply need to trust Him more,
rely on His strength, there’s real stability in following His will and an
overwhelming peace.
Lord Jesus, Save me from myself,
keep me focused on Your plan for me, lead me by Your Spirit. When I am tempted to chicken out, remind me
of Your mission, remind me that people need to hear about Your saving grace,
remind me that time is fleeting and this world is not my home. May Your Spirit that lives in me overcome my
flesh and win out in every decision, thought, and circumstance. Use me for Your glory, Lord. I love You, Jesus. Amen.
April 27,
2016
Galatians
6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap,
if we do not give up.”
Don’t give up! We will reap what we sow. Some may see that
as wordly gain but I see it as lives changed.
Do not grow weary in doing good!
I don’t ever want to tire of sharing the gospel with the lost and
hopeless. What is the cost of one human
life/soul? It is priceless.
Lord, Use me to share Your truth
and hope, help me stay focused on Your plan and not get side-tracked with my
own personal interests, help Your interests always be my interests. Give me strength when I start to get weary,
give me a greater, more supernatural love for the lost. I love You, Jesus. Amen.
April 28,
2016
Hebrews 11
“Faith”
This chapter is all about faith
in action. These men and women had faith
in an invisible God to lead them to something better and they didn’t have the
Holy Spirit!
Lord, I want to put my faith
into action; I want to so fully rely on
You that even when people say I’m crazy I will have Your overwhelming peace and
joy, knowing that I’m doing Your will and what You’ve called me to do. Thank You, Jesus, for Your faithfulness, Your
peace, and for continual sanctification.
Make me who You want me to be. I
love you, Jesus. Amen.
