A few months ago, a young lady from my school introduced the song below during chapel to the student body. If anyone has a right to sing these words, she does. As this young lady recently lost her mother in a long struggle with cancer. Loss is something none of us take well. No matter what it may be. Some losses seem small to others, but to the person who has lost, it is larger than life. Whether it be the loss of a parent, a sibling, any family member, a friend, a pet, a pastor, a job, a house the list goes on. We try to rationalize the situation... But, sadly, our finite minds cannot comprehend the reason the Lord decided to allow this pain into our lives. Many blame God for so many different reasons, but God knows how much you can bear, and how far He will allow. Job was tortured, torn, accused, cursed at, heartbroken, and yet he still uttered those words that we can't even begin to think in hard times "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Through the pain, he still blessed God. It may be hard to get to where you can still bless God for trials. But, until you can yell "Hallelujah from the Valley" you'll never know how clear and strong His praises can echo through the mountains.
Hallelujah from the Valley
Hallelujah from the Saint
Who with pain in every heartbeat
Will lift his voice and say
"I will bless the Lord at all times
No matter come what may
Hallelujah from the Valley
Hallelujah through the pain"
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Beyond the Open Door... But which one??
I cannot believe it is already May! Or that I have officially graduated from Indiana Bible College! The last 3 years here have been amazing. My time here was exciting, stressful, inspiring, entertaining, and just all around wonderful. I've made such amazing friends, and am going to miss the atmosphere. It's going to be sad not being able to have so many like-minded people around. But thank God for technology to be able to contact those people, and for the ability to go before His throne whenever I want.
So on to the story behind the title of my post. Beyond the open door, but which one? Sometimes the hardest place to be is in the unknown. That's where I feel I am now. I know there are things that I feel others "expect" me to do, but "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing" (I love Pastor Booker!). And right now, my MAIN thing is to follow God's Will for my life.
One of the definitions of the word follow is "to accept the authority of or give allegiance to". So by following, I am surrendering my will to His Will. Which really is a sacrifice. If I were leading myself... Let's not even go there, that's dangerous territory! God's way really is the only way, so I choose that way, even if the path is not clear at this moment.
Most of us know the song, "Beyond the Open Door", the first verse of that song says "in the things familiar we find security". Yes, I admit, I find security in familiar things; such as, home, IBC, family, friends, etc. But, one cannot go through life expecting to have familiarity as their safety net. To be able to do what God wants for your life, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not an expert on this. I LOVE new places and people, but it really is hard for me to get all the way out of my comfort zone. I know that God has something big for me, but it's finally time for me to leave the safe haven that IBC has been for the last 3 years and get out into the real world. I don't know for sure where God is going to lead me, but I do know that I am not afraid of what my future holds for me. With God in control of my life, I'm ready to go beyond one of the open doors!!
BEYOND THE OPEN DOOR
In the things familiar we find security
Resisting all the changes that days and years can bring
When God decides to lead you through an open door
Inviting you to walk in realms you've never known before
Beyond the open door is a new and fresh anointing
Hear the Spirit calling you to go
Walk on through the door for the Lord will go before you
Into a greater power, you've never known before
Hear the Spirit calling to wake the living dead
To reach the huddled masses who call out for living bread
Arise, Oh mighty army, take up thy shield and sword
For the Father lifts His golden lamp beside the open door
So on to the story behind the title of my post. Beyond the open door, but which one? Sometimes the hardest place to be is in the unknown. That's where I feel I am now. I know there are things that I feel others "expect" me to do, but "the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing" (I love Pastor Booker!). And right now, my MAIN thing is to follow God's Will for my life.
One of the definitions of the word follow is "to accept the authority of or give allegiance to". So by following, I am surrendering my will to His Will. Which really is a sacrifice. If I were leading myself... Let's not even go there, that's dangerous territory! God's way really is the only way, so I choose that way, even if the path is not clear at this moment.
Most of us know the song, "Beyond the Open Door", the first verse of that song says "in the things familiar we find security". Yes, I admit, I find security in familiar things; such as, home, IBC, family, friends, etc. But, one cannot go through life expecting to have familiarity as their safety net. To be able to do what God wants for your life, you have to get out of your comfort zone. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not an expert on this. I LOVE new places and people, but it really is hard for me to get all the way out of my comfort zone. I know that God has something big for me, but it's finally time for me to leave the safe haven that IBC has been for the last 3 years and get out into the real world. I don't know for sure where God is going to lead me, but I do know that I am not afraid of what my future holds for me. With God in control of my life, I'm ready to go beyond one of the open doors!!
BEYOND THE OPEN DOOR
In the things familiar we find security
Resisting all the changes that days and years can bring
When God decides to lead you through an open door
Inviting you to walk in realms you've never known before
Beyond the open door is a new and fresh anointing
Hear the Spirit calling you to go
Walk on through the door for the Lord will go before you
Into a greater power, you've never known before
Hear the Spirit calling to wake the living dead
To reach the huddled masses who call out for living bread
Arise, Oh mighty army, take up thy shield and sword
For the Father lifts His golden lamp beside the open door
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Still Upward
Still upward be thine onward course,
For this I pray today;
Still upward as the years go by,
And seasons pass away
Still upward in this coming year,
Thy path is all untried;
Still upward may'st thou journey on,
Close by thy Savior's side.
Still upward e'en though sorrow come,
And trials crush thine heart;
Still upward may they draw thy soul.
With Christ to walk apart.
Still upward till the day shall break,
And shadows all have flown;
Still upward til in Heaven you wake,
And stand before the throne.
I stole... excuse me borrowed... a great devotional book from my house before I left. I saw this poem in it and following the poem, there was a statement. The author said "We linger in the lowlands because we are afraid to climb the mountains." That phrase really stood out to me. It is true. A lot of times we are so willing just to stay where we are in our life and our walk with God, that we forget He created us to impact our world. There will be times that we are ready for a change, and start to make something happen; and then possibly, it seems as if a door closed on our plans. So automatically we assume that if it's too difficult to get past a certain point then it "wasn't God's Will". Well did you every think that perhaps it just wasn't YOUR will???
When God created the world, He put those beautiful sometimes snowcapped mountains in place. Those RUGGED, steep, treacherous mountains. If you were to try to climb up the smooth side of the mountain how would you even make it all the way to the top? God made the mountains rugged for a reason. He knew how incredible the view from the mountain top is, and that if just one person could make it to the top, then they could share how worthwhile that long hard journey really is.
How are you going to become all you can be for God if you are content to stay where you are, and never get out of your comfort zone?? There should never be a comfort zone where the things of God are concerning. He did not put us on this earth to blend into the background, and never grow in His Word. He put us here to do His Will and to be all we can be for Him.
If we found the courage to climb those mountains, who knows what glory awaits us there???
Too low they build who build below the stars.
For this I pray today;
Still upward as the years go by,
And seasons pass away
Still upward in this coming year,
Thy path is all untried;
Still upward may'st thou journey on,
Close by thy Savior's side.
Still upward e'en though sorrow come,
And trials crush thine heart;
Still upward may they draw thy soul.
With Christ to walk apart.
Still upward till the day shall break,
And shadows all have flown;
Still upward til in Heaven you wake,
And stand before the throne.
I stole... excuse me borrowed... a great devotional book from my house before I left. I saw this poem in it and following the poem, there was a statement. The author said "We linger in the lowlands because we are afraid to climb the mountains." That phrase really stood out to me. It is true. A lot of times we are so willing just to stay where we are in our life and our walk with God, that we forget He created us to impact our world. There will be times that we are ready for a change, and start to make something happen; and then possibly, it seems as if a door closed on our plans. So automatically we assume that if it's too difficult to get past a certain point then it "wasn't God's Will". Well did you every think that perhaps it just wasn't YOUR will???
When God created the world, He put those beautiful sometimes snowcapped mountains in place. Those RUGGED, steep, treacherous mountains. If you were to try to climb up the smooth side of the mountain how would you even make it all the way to the top? God made the mountains rugged for a reason. He knew how incredible the view from the mountain top is, and that if just one person could make it to the top, then they could share how worthwhile that long hard journey really is.
How are you going to become all you can be for God if you are content to stay where you are, and never get out of your comfort zone?? There should never be a comfort zone where the things of God are concerning. He did not put us on this earth to blend into the background, and never grow in His Word. He put us here to do His Will and to be all we can be for Him.
If we found the courage to climb those mountains, who knows what glory awaits us there???
Too low they build who build below the stars.
Monday, January 3, 2011
God's in His Heaven
My all time favorite quotes have been from Anne of Green Gables. And anyone that knows me knows how much I absolutely ADORE Anne Shirley and the genius who decided to bring her into existence. One quote that I tend to re-quote a lot is "God's in His heaven and all's right with the world." However, I never fully understood that phrase until this last year.
As I said in my last post, 2010 was a rough year. Both of my parents were sick, my best friend's daddy died, and two of my close friends died. Those are just the most tragic moments of 2010 for me, there were quite a few others, but those were some of the hardest things for me to deal with.
When I received the call in October and then in November of the car accidents that took the lives of these people who played such fundamental roles in my life (one of whom played a part in the birth of and raising of my non-biological twin, and the other two who became family to me while I lived in Pennsylvania over the summer) the first thing that came to my mind for both was "Why God???" I know that this is the same thing that went through the minds of each family member of those three precious people. I know I am not truly family to any of them, yet it still affected me greatly.
The thing that most people struggle with while grieving is bitterness. I would constantly ask "why them God??" But I know God does everything for a purpose, although we will never know this purpose until we see Bro Simpson, Josh and Kristen again in heaven.
I know you're wondering what my quote had to do with any of this. Yes God is in His heaven, but no, nothing is going right in our world. Or so it seems. But when I say that phrase, although NOTHING seems to be going right in my world, my daddy is still sick, my friends are still gone, my mom is overwhelmed and I'm not even there to help her... Even though all this is so painful to me, I still have that reassurance in knowing that God is there through it all, good and bad, looking down upon every situation, wanting to be able to walk us through each problem. God IS in His heaven and when nothing seems to go right, when you realize that though your world is turned upside down; with God by your side, it is a comfort to know that even though all is not right in your world, God will always be right in your world.
The Road is Rough
As I said in my last post, 2010 was a rough year. Both of my parents were sick, my best friend's daddy died, and two of my close friends died. Those are just the most tragic moments of 2010 for me, there were quite a few others, but those were some of the hardest things for me to deal with.
When I received the call in October and then in November of the car accidents that took the lives of these people who played such fundamental roles in my life (one of whom played a part in the birth of and raising of my non-biological twin, and the other two who became family to me while I lived in Pennsylvania over the summer) the first thing that came to my mind for both was "Why God???" I know that this is the same thing that went through the minds of each family member of those three precious people. I know I am not truly family to any of them, yet it still affected me greatly.
The thing that most people struggle with while grieving is bitterness. I would constantly ask "why them God??" But I know God does everything for a purpose, although we will never know this purpose until we see Bro Simpson, Josh and Kristen again in heaven.
I know you're wondering what my quote had to do with any of this. Yes God is in His heaven, but no, nothing is going right in our world. Or so it seems. But when I say that phrase, although NOTHING seems to be going right in my world, my daddy is still sick, my friends are still gone, my mom is overwhelmed and I'm not even there to help her... Even though all this is so painful to me, I still have that reassurance in knowing that God is there through it all, good and bad, looking down upon every situation, wanting to be able to walk us through each problem. God IS in His heaven and when nothing seems to go right, when you realize that though your world is turned upside down; with God by your side, it is a comfort to know that even though all is not right in your world, God will always be right in your world.
The Road is Rough
The road is rough I said, dear Lord,
There are stones that hurt me so;
And He said, dear child I understand,
I walked it long ago...
But there is a cool, green path I said,
Let me walk there for a time;
No child He gently answered me,
The green road does not climb.
My burden I said is far too great,
How can I bear it so?
My child said He, I remember its weight,
I carried my cross you know.
But I said I wish there were friends with whom would make my way their own,
Oh yes, He said, Gethsemane was hard to face alone.
And so I walked that stony path
Content to know,
That where my Master had not gone,
I would not need to go...
And strangely then I found my friends,
The burden grew less sore,
As I remembered long ago, that He had
Walked that way before.....
Saturday, January 1, 2011
I Gladly Welcome 2011!
Here we are another year has gone by, and a new year has come in. And I am actually posting! Will wonders ever cease? I have been told that it is time to start my blog back up again, and I figured, what better time to start than the first day of the new year?
It has been about 6 months since I last posted. And a lot has happened. 2010 was a long, hard year for most. And I am exceedingly happy to see the calendar flip to January of 2011. I already feel that this new year will be amazing. I have such high hopes for it. A new year is normally a time for some new resolutions. My resolution is quite simple. To make 2011 the best year ever.
"Another fresh new year is here
Another year to live
To banish worry, doubt and fear
To love and laugh and give!
This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs"
It has been about 6 months since I last posted. And a lot has happened. 2010 was a long, hard year for most. And I am exceedingly happy to see the calendar flip to January of 2011. I already feel that this new year will be amazing. I have such high hopes for it. A new year is normally a time for some new resolutions. My resolution is quite simple. To make 2011 the best year ever.
"Another fresh new year is here
Another year to live
To banish worry, doubt and fear
To love and laugh and give!
This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!
I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs"
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