A Day of Praise

The other night I was reading Psalm 113 and I came across verse 3, "From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!" This was so convicting to me because I am failing at this. So much of my day is spent thinking about myself, complaining, trying to make myself the most comfortable, doing what I desire. That is not praising the Lord! He is not pleased with this. I asked the question, so how can I praise Him all day long?

The next morning, I was reading Psalm 119 and verse 7 struck me, "I will praise you with an upright heart when I learn your righteous rules." This is how I praise Him all day, by living with an upright heart. The rest of the Psalm tells me how to have this upright heart. It taught me that I need to be living intentionally, actively, passionately, joyfully seeking to know God, His Word, and obeying Him. This is how I'm to live my life. Instead, I so often just float through life waiting for the next thing to happen and then reacting to it. Living intentionally takes a lot of work and I'm lazy and self focused.

I have confessed this sin to the Lord and am confidante in His gracious forgiveness and mercy. I have decided to make Psalm 113:3 my theme verse for the year. I think it will give me a proper perspective. It will be fun to find ways to praise Him during the day, all day. It will be fun to teach this to my girls.

For me, part of living intentionally has to be getting up before the girls do so I can have time alone with God. This is so hard for me because I love sleep! It's also hard because it means I need to be disciplined and go to bed earlier at night. My plan is to get up at 6:30 every morning. I'm telling you this so that you can all hold me accountable to this. I do so much better with accountability.

So, what are some ways you can praise Him today?

I'm Choosing to Praise

I am a worrier! That is my natural bent. When I was reading my Bible this morning, I realized that I have a choice today. I have a very long day ahead of me while my Mother in Law/Love is in the hospital having major surgery and as we are awaiting the diagnosis to find out if she has cancer or not and if so which kind. (There are two kinds of pancreatic cancer, one is manageable, the other is fatal.)

I read Psalm 100 this morning. This is one of my favorite Psalms and was very comforting to me when my nephew, Luke was in surgery. Today, I return to it, and once again take comfort.

"Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."
Psalm 100:3-5
I love how this tells us that He is God, He is our Creator! He made us and he personally knows us. I belong to Him. I know that Patty belongs to Him. He made her and He knows her personally, she is His lamb. He knows that she is having surgery right now, He is right there with her. Not only does God know her, He loves her with a steadfast love and He is faithful. This should cause us to praise Him and thank Him.
So, today, instead of worrying I'm choosing to praise Him. I know that no matter what happens today, God loves her and He is faithful. No matter what happens, He is worthy of praise and thanksgiving!

*Please scroll down to see pictures of Abby's princess party and more pictures from our vacation! My little princess is playing batman and running in the rain with her boy cousin right now!

Encouragement for you!

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:5-8

Resting in Christ's Righteousness

Here is a snippet from The Gospel Primer that I read in my devotions this morning. I hope it encourages you and causes thankfulness.
"The gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me. I never have to do a moment's labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God! Freed from the burden of such a task, I now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness, and ministering God's amazing grace to others.
The gospel also reminds me that my righteous standing with God always holds firm regardless of my performance, because my standing is based solely on the work of Jesus and not mine. On my worst days of sin and failure, the gospel encourages me with God's unrelenting grace toward me. On my best days of victory and usefulness, the gospel keeps me relating to God solely on the basis of Jesus' righteousness and not mine."

John 17 and other things. . .

I was going to write a post to tell you all of the things I learned from my devotional reading of John 17 this morning, but there is way too many things! This chapter is chock full of good things! It is Jesus' high priestly prayer. He talks about our salvation, eternal security, unity, His deity, our separation from the world, His love for us, His relationship with the Father and on and on. If you haven't already read it today (or yesterday, I was a day behind in my schedule), go read it! Read it thoughtfully and prayerfully!

Here is a Rylieism for you! Ryan asked her, "Are you beautiful?" Rylie said, "yes", and Ryan added, "and humble too". Rylie said, indignantly, "I'm not humble!"

We are listening to our new CD by the Carter family! We love it! The Carter's are a family in our church. They are very special to us! I have known them since I was a little girl. They have been mentors and friends for a very long time. They have made us laugh so many times and encouraged us in a myriad of ways. Their children (the older ones and the younger) have become dear to our hearts. These pictures are of the younger ones, Jonathan and Hannah (holding Anna) when they stopped by our house a few weeks ago. Rylie thinks they are the coolest big kids in the world! They graciously give her lots of attention, especially Hannah! They are a very musically talented family and have won several fiddle competitions. They have recently made a CD and gave us a copy yesterday. Our friend Chris designed the cover and it looks incredible. The music is so fun and uplifting! The whole family either sings or plays an instrument on it! Once they have a venue to sell it, I will include a link so you can get your own copy!

I don't deserve His love! (from Valley of Vision)

My Father, enlarge my heart, warm my affections, open my lips, supply words that proclaim 'Love lustres at Calvary.' There grace removes my burdens and heaps them on thy Son, made a transgressor, a curse, and sin for me; there the sword of thy justice smote the man, thy fellow; there thy infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite attributes were magnified, and infinite atonement was made; there infinite punishment was due, and infinite punishment was endured. Christ was all anguish that I might be all joy, cast off that I might be brought in, trodden down as an enemy that I might be welcomed as a friend, surrendered to hell's worst that I might attain heaven's best, stripped that I might be clothed, wounded that I might be healed, a thirst that I might drink, tormented that I might be comforted, made a shame that I might inherit glory, entered darkness that I might have eternal light. My Saviour wept that all tears might be wiped form my eyes, groaned that I might have endless song, endured all pain that I might have unfading health, bore a thorny crown that I might have a glory-diadem, bowed his head that I might uplift mine, experienced reproach that I might receive welcome, closed his eyes in death that I might for ever live. O Father, who spared not thine only Son that thou mightest spare me, All this transfer thy love designed and accomplished; help me to adore thee by lips and life. O that my every breath might be ecstatic praise, my every step buoyant with delight, as I see my enemies crushed, Satan baffled, defeated, destroyed, sin buried in the ocean of reconciling blood, hell's gates closed, heaven's portal open. Go forth, O conquering God, and show me the cross, mighty to subdue, comfort and save.

Heroes!

Josiah is my hero! He was so awesome! I can't wait to meet him in Heaven some day.

As you know, we have been reading through 2 Kings. I keep reading about generations of evil kings. They had totally set aside the Law of the Lord and were worshipping false gods and doing all kinds of wicked things (ripping open pregnant women, sacrificing their own children, etc.) Josiah's own grandfather was probably the worst there was.

But, then you come to Josiah. He started ruling when he was only eight years old, he had an awful heritage. He could have easily gone astray and followed in the footprints of his grandfather and father, but he followed the Lord. He went a step farther than many of the other kings and tore down the "high places" were the people were worshipping idols. He set to restore the house of the Lord. One of the priests found the Book of the Law that had been cast aside generations previous. When Josiah heard the Word of the Lord, he was completely convicted and humbled. He didn't just keep it to himself though, he read it to all the people and made a covenant before all of them to obey the Lord.

Then, he cleaned house! He went through all of Israel and literally tore to pieces all of the idols and alters, and all of the things used to worship the the false gods. I'm sure this made many people very angry, but he didn't care. He was courageous and was serious about getting rid of sin and reestablishing God's Law. He not only acted externally, but he gave the Lord his whole heart and soul.

These are the kind of people we need to hold up as our heroes!

God's Anger

I don't often think about God's anger towards His people. It was very evident in the Old Testament, but what about now? I know that He is loving and gracious and forgiving, but He is also still a Holy, righteous God who cannot tolerate sin. I know that He is patient with me and that I am secure in Him. I also know that I have a sinful heart and that makes Him angry with me. Scary thought! We often talk about how sin "offends" a Holy God, but I think that word makes me think more of hurting God's feelings, not of angering a just, holy, righteous God! My sin does that! I need to have this view of my sin! I am very thankful for His forgiveness, graciousness, and mercy!
Note: I wrote this a few weeks ago, when I was actually reading my Bible. I have to confess that since Anna's been born, I haven't read it at all! :(

Faith

I have really enjoyed reading the Old Testament this year. One of the biggest lessons I have been learning is that of faith. I love reading the examples of people like Joseph, Joshua, and Caleb. They have complete faith in God. They know that He always keeps His promises and that nothing is impossible with Him. In the story of the spies sent out to Caanan, Joshua and Caleb are the only ones who trust God, the only ones who have faith and assuarance that He could and would accomplish His promises. They knew that if something is in God's plan it will happen, even if it seems impossible to us. Nothing is impossible for God! I need to have more faith! God is stronger than anything, I don't need to fear!

When Manna Isn't Enough

In my Bible reading, I was in Numbers 11 and came across the Israelites whining in the wilderness. If you remember the story, God had been graciously providing them with Manna for their daily sustenance, but they started complaining. God had provided for them in a miraculous way and still they complained and wanted something different. How like us this is! God always provides for us in a myriad of ways in life, but we want something different, depending on the craving of the moment. It is a wonder that God remains patient with us! When we are wanting something different than what God has provided we are lacking in contentment and gratitude. These are two of the hardest things to obtain, but they are the things that will really make us happy/joyful. I need to learn to be content and grateful for what God has provided and stop thinking that my cravings are more important than what He has provided. I am thankful that He is so patient with me!

Who's In Control?

The other day, Ryan and I had gotten to my doctor's appointment a little bit early (if you know me, you know that I am a freak about not getting to the doctor's late!) I was feeling anxious and impatient. I was wanting to know exactly when Anna will be born and all of the circumstances that will surround it. Of course I don't know that, and neither does my doctor. As I was sitting in the car anxiously drumming my fingers on the dashboard, Ryan suggested I read a book as he was doing. I gave him some snide remark about being to anxious to read and all I had was my book from Sunday School anyway. I realized though that my sighs were starting to drive him batty, so I picked up my book. The first thing I read really convicted me. It was like the Lord was speaking right to me in that moment. I'll share some of it with you (from the book War of Words, by Paul Tripp).
"There is no situation we will ever encounter that is not ruled by Christ. Our lives are not out of control. Christ carefully administers them for our benefit and his glory. . . Christ right now, at this moment, is ruling all things for our particular benefit as his children. I may not always see his hand and I won't always recognize the good he is doing, but he is active and ruling all the same."

Oh Hypocrite Me

While I was reading Matthew 24 tonight, I was struck with how like the Pharisees and Saducees I am! How often do I want to set myself up in a place of honor and make the exterior clean, but not the interior! I was greatly convicted that I need to be the humble servant. I need to clean the inside, not just the outside! As I was asking the Lord for forgiveness for my prideful, hypocritcal attitude, I was blown away by the reality that He doesn't have to forgive me at all, but yet, in His grace, He chooses too. I am so thankful! I then read this Valley of Vision prayer that seemed to fit perfectly, so I wanted to share it with you.
God and Myself
"Lord God Almighty, thy understanding is unsearchable and infinite, thy arm cannot be stayed, thy agency extends through limitless space, all works hang on thy care, with thee time is a present now. Holy is thy wisdom, power, mercy, ways, works. How can I stand before thee with my numberless and aggravated offences? I have often loved darkeness, observed lying vanities, forsaken thy given mercies, trampled underfoot thy beloved Son, mocked thy providences, flattered thee with my lips, broken thy covenant. It is of thy compassion that I am not consumed. Lead me to repentance, and save me from despair; Let me come to thee renouncing, condemning, leathing myself, but hoping in the grace that flows even to the chief of sinners. At the cross may I contemplate the evil of sin, and abhor it, look on him whom I pierced, as one slain for me, and by me. May I never despise his death by fearing its efficacy for my salvation. And whatever cross I am required to bear, let me see him carrying a heavier. Teach me in health to think of sickness, in the brightest hours to be ready for darkness; in life prepare me for death, thus may my soul rest in thee, O immortal and transcendent one, revealed as thou art in the Person and work of thy Son, the Friend of sinners."

Repent

Today in my Bible reading I read Matt. 11:20 "Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent." Jesus was compassionate to all the people. He healed every kind of disease and ailment. He wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He healed them physically, but he cared more about their souls than their physical condition. He healed them so they would realize the truth about who he was and who they were. The healing of their souls through repentance was the most important to Jesus.
How often do I care more about the temporal, physical things of my life than "soul issues"? I need to be more concerned with the things that meant the most to Jesus, not with the things that mean the most to me and the world. I need to be more concerned with my daily repentance then with how I'm feeling physically. I need to be opening my stubborn heart to him, he desires that relationship with me. He offers forgiveness for everything I repent.

Gratitude

I am so thankful that my family extends beyond my biological family (who I love very much) into my church family. I am constantly blessed by them. As I write this, my friend Michelle has dropped Rylie off from spending the morning at her house, and is on her way to buy me some groceries! She already brought me lunch and prepared dinner for us for this evening. She is also going to help me with some dinners in the next couple of weeks. Thank you Dave and Michelle for what a huge blessing you are to our family in these and so many other ways!
I am thankful for the others in my church family that have helped by providing meals and play dates for Rylie and housecleaning! And of course I know that my own family is always here for me and has helped tremendously as well.
I am very grateful for the prayers for myself and my little Anna. I can't wait to introduce her to you all who have cared for her so much before she even knew you! What a visible illustration of Christ's love!
It has been hard for me to accept help because I don't want to be selfish and I don't want to be a burden on anyone, but I know some of this is also due to my pride and stubbornness. God is working on that with me! He is also working on my "poor me" attitude and my impatience. I have been pretty miserable this week with almost nonstop contractions and getting little sleep, but that is no excuse for me to wallow in it. Why is it when I need the Lord the most, instead I go to my corner and pout?! These last three days have been very hard so what do I do, I skip my devotions! I turn away from the source of my comfort, peace, strength, and joy.
I apologize to those of you to whom I've been complaining, whiny, and impatient with. I'm off to spend some much needed time with the Lord!

"Why?"

Rylie says many interesting things, but lately she has taken to saying, "why?" after everything we say. I have to confess that this is driving me crazy and I have had to apologize for my impatience with it several times over the past few days. I am glad that she is curious (when I told her she was curious she got very offended and said, "I'm not a curious, I'm a girl!") and I am glad she has a thirst for knowledge, especially Biblical knowledge.
Every night before bed, she and Daddy have been reading her new Bible (see Ryan's post tomorrow morning). She has been devouring and retaining these Bible stories and several times during the day she will ask me about various parts of the stories. I have been learning how to summarize a Biblical account in a way that an almost three year old would understand. It has been a great exercise for me to realize the main point of these stories (which I keep reminding her are really true events that happened in history, not a pretend story).
As I was doing my own Bible reading this evening I came across the verse in Genesis 15 that says that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. The thought struck me that this is one of the main things I've been telling Rylie. All these different Bible characters believed what God told them and obeyed Him and as a result were blessed by God in various ways (protection, provision, etc.) It was a great reminder to me that sometimes I get caught up in all the details (there is great value in studying the details, don't get me wrong), and I forget some of the basic lessons that are to be learned. To put it simply, we need to believe what God tells us, then obey Him and we will be blessed by this.
Thank you Rylie for your "whys" that have been teaching me!

"Immediately"

As I was doing my Bible reading and journaling tonight, I was struck by a verse in Matthew 4 that says that Jesus walked by James and John while they were with their father fishing. He called out to them to follow Him and they "immediately" followed Him. I don't know if they had heard about Jesus previous to this or if this was their first interaction with Him. It doesn't really matter though, what matters is their immediate faith and obedience. They gave up their occupation (which may have been a long standing family "business"), and their identity that came along with that. They also left their father there, to follow Jesus. I wonder what their father thought, was he mad, confused, proud?
I was struck with the conviction that I don't always immediately obey or trust God. I need to have that unshakable confidence that whatever He asks of me is trustworthy and for my supreme good and for His glory. I need to have that closeness of relationship with Him that enables me to immediately recognize when He is asking me to do something and then immediately responding in faith. I so appreciate James and John's response that can teach so many lessons this many years into the future!

Self-pity

Ryan and I have been trying to be more productive with our time and our brains, so we have been turning off the T.V. at night and reading together instead (we're not saints, we have DVR!). We have been reading Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan and The Dangerous Duty of Delight by John Piper. The other night when we were reading the Piper book, I was slapped across the face by the Holy Spirit. We were reading a chapter on pride and self pity, no problem I have this under control. Then, I read this paragraph, "The nature and depth of human pride are illuminated by comparing boasting to self-pity. Both are manifestations of pride. Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity says, 'I deserve admiration because I have suffered so much.' Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak. Boasting sounds self-sufficient. Self-pity sounds self-sacrificing. The reason self-pity does not look like pride is that it appears to be so needy. But the need arises from a wounded ego. It doesn't come from a sense of unrecognized worthiness. It is the response of unapplauded pride."
This was so convicting! I didn't realize that I have been sinning in this area until the Holy Spirit enlightened me. (If those of you close to me have noticed it, we're sometimes blind to our own faults.) Now I have even more to work on! I'm so thankful for grace!
(Thanks honey for the tutorial on hyperlinks!)

Psalm 84

Psalm 84 is a great Psalm, two of our choruses have come out of this Psalm. As I was reading it yesterday I was struck with verses 5-7. I have been working on the discipline of perseverance in my life. I have one great day, then I sin horribly the next day, when I fully know that it is wrong. I wonder how do "those people" do it, you those I mean, the perfect Christians, the ones who never miss a day in their devotions, who are allway exhibiting all of the fruit of the Spirit all of the time. They never give in to temptation, they never get selfish, they never get depressed. As we all know, "those people" don't really exist. There are definetly people who are walking much closer to the Lord than we are, but they certainly are not perfect, but for the most part they are persevering. These verses in this Psalm gave me an insight into how they continue to persevere. "Blessed are those whose strenth is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion."
Firstly, their strength is found in the Lord, not in themselves, not in their family, not in their circumstances. For their strength to be in the Lord, that means their focus is on Him, they are trusting Him, relying on Him, talking to Him. They have the right perspective on this life, that is an eternal perspective, not jsut temporal. They set their hearts on the pilgrimage. They are focused and dedicated, they don't let things distract them. The Valley of Baca is not an actual Valley but rather it means a valley of tears, these are the trials we all go through in life. But, do you see how they handle these trials? They don't give in to their tears and wallow in despair, but again, they have the right perspective. They don't focus on the horribleness of the now, they see the beauty in the trials. They see what God is doing and what He will do through them. They make their trials a place of refreshment. I really liked the phrase, "they go from strength to strength". This is a day by day process. They don't get strong at one point in time and remain that way. They keep getting stronger, they don't give up, it's a moment by moment thing. How long? Untill they appear before God! This is the end of their pilgrimage, this is what they have been focused on and now they will enjoy thier eternal reward.

Oh, how I long to be like them! What is stopping me? Just myself, I have no excuse. He will be my strength.

Peace Like a River

I haven't had a very good day. Nothing particularly bad happened, but I felt tired, impatient, and crabby all day. As the day progressed I felt more and more anxious and restless. I felt like I needed a break. When Ryan's counseling appointment cancelled, I was glad, this meant that he could play with Rylie so I could have some time to myself. I thought that might make me feel better. I perused a magazine, that didn't make me feel better. I figured if I did the dishes, I would feel good because I was doing something constructive and I wouldn't have them hanging over my head. Since that didn't work, I moved on the reorganizing and cleaning the medicine cabinet. I called my parents and told them I needed a break and asked if I could send Rylie over there tomorrow. They said "of course", then I felt guilty that I was sending my child somewhere else so I could have some rest. I had a good cry and heard reassuring words from my parents. They assured me that I wasn't being a bad Mommy or wasn't loving my girl just because she would be spending the day with her Grandparents. That made me feel some what better, but still had that moody feeling. I decided maybe I just needed some time with the Lord. I spent some time in prayer, then read the Word. It washed over me like a cool balm. Finally, this is what my soul needed! He promises us peace, but only if we go to Him. Of course I wasn't finding peace in all those other things I was doing. I needed to go to Him and confess my sinful attitudes and spend time in His presence. I also read this from the Valley of Vision:
"May his comforts cheer me in my sorrows, his strength sustain me in my trials, his blessings revive me in my weariness, his presence render me a fruitful tree of holiness, his might establish me in peace and joy, his incitements make me ceaseless in prayer, his animation kindle in me undying devotion. Send him as the searcher of my heart, to show me more of my corruptions and helplessness that I may flee to thee, cling to thee, rest on thee, as the beginning and end of my salvation."