Praise the Lord!

Carolyn

Psalm 113:1-3
“Praise the LORD. Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD.
Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore.
From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.”

I woke up this morning watching the sunrise as I prayed. I love watching a sunrise, and I get great views of it from right where I live. One of my favorite things about this house, actually. Today that sunrise brought this verse to mind: “From the rising of the sun, to the setting of the same, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

Wow, I wonder what my days would be like if I spent them praising His name from sunup to sundown. We are commanded to rejoice evermore and give thanks in everything, after all, in Philippians 2 and I Thessalonians 5. Some constant praising, rejoicing and thanksgiving… that should lift any spirits that are down!

God Almighty, a song from Chris Tomlin, was also stirring in my mind this morning:

Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning we will sing
Holy, Holy, we bow down before Thee
All Your children love to sing Your name
God Almighty

You’re the breath of life
You’re the God on high
Your song shall rise
And never pass away

O, Your Majesty
Evermore shall be
The earth, the skies, the sea
Shall bring You praise

And I hide my eyes
With my face to the ground
In the presence of Your Majesty
And I clap my hands
And I lay my crowns
In the presence of Your Majesty

I want to both praise Him and bring Him praise today, by the power of His Spirit, in His strength. Early this morning and every morning, may I sing my praise to You, Lord!

Our Perfect God

Carolyn

I love this new song from Natalie Grant, Perfect People:

“There’s no such thing as perfect people.
There’s no such thing as a perfect life.
So come as you are, broken and scarred,
Lift up your heart and be amazed,
And be changed by a perfect God.”

I unintentionally dropped the ball on something at work this last week. It exposed my subconscious desires to be and do everything just perfectly. Yet, in the midst of my failing, I felt led to trust God as the One who assures me in His Word that this would be for my good. How could I not accept this misstep as part of His plan for my life to teach me a valuable lesson? Not only did God provide for my need that resulted from my mistake, but He also taught me in the process more about trusting Him and more about who I am in Him.

It has caused me to rejoice all the more in His perfection and His sovereign ways.

He is also in the process of perfecting our faith, in spite of our imperfections.

It’s such a beautiful picture, and I praise our perfect God for Who He is, for His perfect ways and His great love for us.

Deuteronomy 32:3-4
“I will proclaim the name of the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he.”

Lessons Learned

Carolyn

The mom at our school that I had written about in a couple of my earlier posts went home to be with the Lord yesterday. What a joyous, yet sad, day. There is such a dichotomy at work in death, it’s hard to comprehend. The certain hope of heaven for those who believe in Jesus and the joy of seeing Him face to face, yet the grief in the here and now for those left behind, especially young children. We weren’t meant to die. And for those in Christ, we never will. Absent from the body, present with the Lord. We will see her again. But the pain in the here and now for those who remain is harsh.

I was thinking about the lessons I’ve learned from watching this woman of God for the last year. I met her exactly one year ago today, April 24, when she came to look at the school. I didn’t know that one year later, I’d be watching her children playing at a park after school, experiencing their first day without their mother. My heart breaks.

The first lesson I learned is to treasure the time with my family and invest in my children. From the day her children were born, she read to them from the Bible. That was convicting to me when I learned that. I haven’t done that. She had likely read 4000 hours from the Bible to her oldest child! Amazing! That will not return void!

She was a woman who feared the Lord, and His promises are mercy to her children’s children. I love it that we can watch with expectation to see what God has for these precious children, even with her cruel absence in their lives. I trust we will see them like a tree, firmly planted, yielding fruit in season, with roots going down deep, becoming oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor. He can bestow a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

When I find myself distracted with my work, thinking of myself instead of my children during my time with them each day, I have been thinking of her and making a choice to live differently as a mom because of her.

A second lesson I saw in her was an extraordinary faith. I’ve written about that in earlier posts, but she truly was an uncommon woman of extraordinary faith, a faith her husband credits our extraordinary God with. She lived her life in light of His truth. She never complained or doubted. She believed. Like the song says, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back.” She never turned back, even when life became very difficult. She pointed people to Christ and proved His worth, that He was more than enough for her. He met her in those deepest places and she did not falter or fail in her faith. I want that kind of faith, given as a gift of His Spirit.

When I think of her, I think of Psalm 40:1-3: I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”

I believe many will see and fear and will trust in the Lord because of her example. She was glad to be wherever God wanted her to be, believing His ways and His plan to be best. That’s a third lesson I’d like to learn, to not complain, but to trust His plan. She was not offended with God and His plan, but reflected Him to a watching world.

She now sees Jesus face to face and is receiving the goal of her faith. I praise Jesus tonight for dying for our sins on the cross, so that by faith in Him, we might never die, but live.

These are the verses her family has shared and that we as a school prayed for her:

I Peter 1:3-9

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

Entrusting My Life to God

Carolyn

There is a mom in our school who is fighting cancer. Her faith has been amazing, despite the fact that she is walking in such deep waters. I have been astounded by the peace she has and the unwavering confidence in the Lord for whatever He has for her life. I commented to her husband several times a couple of weeks back that she has an amazing faith. Each time, her husband would say, “She is just an ordinary woman with an extraordinary God.” He said when God’s Spirit fills someone, they become this way, what they would otherwise not be. Those thoughts kept going through my mind: ordinary woman, extraordinary God.

At the same time, a friend called me for lunch. She had been wanting to read a book together. During lunch, she pulled out a few options that she liked. She placed one on the table in front of me entitled “The Uncommon Woman: Making an Ordinary Life Extraordinary” by Susie Larson. I knew the moment I read those two words in the title “Ordinary” and “Extraordinary” that this was the book we should read.

Have you ever felt like a book was written just for you? I admit, upon first glance when I looked at the book, I wondered if it would have much depth and whether it would be written in a simplistic sort of way, covering things I’ve heard over and over. (There goes my arrogant tendency again to think I’ve heard it all!) But it has been just the opposite, a word fitly spoken for the current condition of my soul. I’ve been astounded each day how God has used the book to meet me right where I am!

An example: Do you ever operate in life in need of man’s approval? Feeling like you’re valued because of what you do, not because of who you are, as made in God’s image? Of course, our value is already settled in Christ, but even giving mental assent to some truth doesn’t necessarily mean it flows into the recesses of our hearts and into pure belief, resulting in appropriate obedience and actions.

As I prayed through some of this the other day, I went to John 2 where I had been reading in my daily time with the Lord. It talks about how people were believing in Jesus, but He would not entrust Himself to man because He knew what was in their hearts. It occurred to me that Jesus, whether he was wildly affirmed, applauded and accepted OR rejected, scorned and killed, never entrusted Himself to man. He simply came to do the mission for which He was called — to do His Father’s will and to glorify Him.

It brought to mind that verse from I Peter 4:19 about how we should “entrust ourselves to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.” It began to dawn on me that this life is about entrusting myself to my Creator to do what is right, not on man or man’s opinions of me. Whether I am rejected or accepted (or in most cases, just neutrally viewed by others, because truly, people aren’t thinking about me anyway!), it should make no difference. I should carry on with my life’s mission to know God, to bring Him glory, and to entrust myself to Him.

Interestingly, the same day I was reading this passage in John 2 and praying through this, I visited the school where I spent my years from Kindergarten to 12th grade. The lady I met with was stressing how they keep their mission ever before them, visible in every room, so they don’t forget what they are all about. Like Jesus with His mission on earth. Again, a reminder that He came to do His Father’s will, to fulfill His mission. My life should follow that example.

That evening (and I realize I’m jumping around a lot, so this timeline may not be clear, but this is all in one day — the reading in John, the realization to “entrust,” the visit to the school), I was blessed to be able to go to the Chris Tomlin concert. I had not realized until the day before that he was be in town (Memphis), and I had prayed that morning about how I could go, but I really didn’t know anyone at that late time to ask to accompany me. I had almost forgotten about it when my friend called and said her son was sick — did I want to go to the concert with them… YES!

I didn’t know what to expect and wasn’t expecting much, but can I just say “amazing”? Is it theologically correct to say someone is “anointed”? Because if it is, Chris Tomlin is. Unbelievable stories He told of God at work. Unbelievable worship songs. Songs that, one after another, caused me to remember God’s work in our lives until the tears wouldn’t stop. All I could think, when the awareness of the reality and presence of God is so strong, is how can I offer so little to the One who has given me so much?

I’ll spare trying to describe my every thought and emotion of the night, but it was one of those rare times in life where God is so close and real, so near. Interestingly, before I went to Memphis, I had been bummed by besetting sins that keep me bound, and I was unsettled. I was reminded of “draw near to God and He will draw near to You.” I took that promise and did that and emptied my heart to God, and I felt like this night was Him drawing right back and giving me the freedom I so want to have. Chris Tomlin said, “How can you raise your hands to God if your are carrying such heavy burdens?” He came to set us free, and truly, I felt like the chains were falling off!

So to get where I was going originally with this post — I went home after the concert so full of God’s amazing love. Before bed, I decided to go ahead and read a little in this “Uncommon Woman” book, still doubting it would have any effect on me. I could not believe it when I read it: “The uncommon woman understands her capacity for pettiness, selfishness, and a sinful bent that leads her away from the Almighty. But her thoughts don’t dwell there. No, despite what she knows about herself, she entrusts herself fully to the One who will shape her into a thing of magnificence…. Accepting acceptance means refusing to let others define you, because God already has….. Jesus deeply understood His identity with His Father…. He came to fulfill His mission.”

I had also been praying through daily and memorizing Psalm 86:11-13 about “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth. Give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name.” The prayer in the book was even about “I will learn to walk in this truth.”

I was astounded again by the ways of God… that He is able to meet each of us so perfectly.

Now I am back from spring break, back in the nitty gritty of each day, and want to live in what the Lord has revealed to me, to entrust myself to Him each day. Maybe as I seek to obey Him and respond to this truth, this will become easier. Today, I truly felt free, and I praise Him for that, for speaking to me in these ways.

My Daughter’s Blog

Carolyn

My daughter started her own blog to share her poetry. She is quite funny and clever for 8 years old!

I had high hopes of keeping up better with my blog this month, but I have been remiss once again.

We had a fun family trip this week to Utica, Illinois. We spent the night at a resort with an indoor water park, an amusement park, and a miniature golf course. We had a good time being away as a family, and the children especially enjoyed themselves and bringing home souvenirs. Starved Rock State Park is also there with a neat little lodge where we had a country meal, buffet style. There are some great walking trails there, so it will be fun to go again in the future. It’s amazing how just 24 hours away can refresh you from the daily demands of life.

We had dinner with 4 other couples last night. I was thinking today about different conversations I had with those friends and others this week and a common thread that has been running through them — things that keep people awake at night. It might be politics, the economy, irritation with a friend or neighbor, jealousy, a health issue, or a work problem.

As I recounted each of my friends’ situations, and thought about the things that can keep me awake at night, there was another common thread — these thoughts that stir in our minds and control our emotions don’t seem to necessarily be based on truth, but are rather things that could almost be categorized as a person’s besetting sin. The things that keep me awake are not the things that keep other people awake; we all have our different issue that threatens to steal our joy and rob us of peace. I have been wrestling with mine for some time and so want to get to the point of just letting it go and not letting it matter to me.

What is the answer for them and for me? I think somehow, it must have to do with fixing our eyes on Jesus and speaking truth to the situation and not allowing ourselves to be controlled by anything other than His Spirit. Perhaps it means believing God that He can truly set us free from anxious thoughts and create in us a peace and confidence in Him.

I have a friend who is very sick with cancer. Her faith has amazed me. Her husband continually points to our extraordinary God who is helping her, noting that she is merely an ordinary woman. God has made her extraordinary though. She has sought Him for years, so that now, she is able to stand and believe in a time of such deep pain. She is ministering to so many through this. I have thought of her every day this week. When I am challenged by my besetting sin, I have remembered her example of faith and let it go.

This is truly a rambling post; perhaps I shouldn’t publish it. Just some random thoughts this week. I do praise the Lord for His sovereignty, His purposes for His people that are good even when we can’t understand. And I praise Him that we don’t have to fear things because we have hope in Him. And I praise Him that He can set us free from things that cause us to stumble and fall and that He is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before His throne.

To Him be all glory both now and forever!