Learning to live for HIS glory

My hope is in a someday that is promised me. It'a a someday filled with joy and not pain. A someday where heartache will be erased, Where new life will always be, And where the greatest Sunrise of all time will be a constant glory-- Not a fading one. Someday...the presence of the Lord I cling to in my day-to-day Will be a seen reality. Someday, worship will be my only option As I see the fulness of His glory not through a mirror dim. Someday...it's not a dream or wish, but a firm and sure foundation. Hope that's anchored on the Rock of all the ages. Distractions come and go... Other hopes may disappoint and fade. This hope remains, Forever and always, The constant of my days. "For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." ~Romans 8:24-25 "For now we see in a mirror dimly,...

Thick, black, utter darkness covers the land, threatening to choke out life itself.  The Savior of the world is hanging on a cross . . . about to breath His last breath?! How can this be?  Lord, this wasn’t the plan, was it?  Did the angels know, I wonder?  Or were they shaking their heads in sorrow?  Saying, “God, this looks REALLY bad . . .” Somehow I think the darkness that fell for the hours preceding Jesus’ death permeated more than just our physical world, but maybe it wasn’t as dark as it appeared . . . allow me to attempt to paint us a picture: Bloody, beaten, mangled…the body of God’s only Son hangs stretched upon roughhewn pieces of wood, held in place by nails that are more like iron stakes.  A crown woven out of cruel thorns sends streams of blood trickling down His face, from where the soldiers shoved it onto his skull just hours earlier.  A faithful few remain near the foot of His cross, wondering if this was all in vain; and t...

In church this morning we talked about pornography.  Heavy stuff.  However, I came out of church encouraged and thankful.  Almost in tears because of how overwhelmed I was (and still am) by the grace of God! I was reminded of this post from back in November:  Thoughts of a Recovering Addict .  I won't tell the story again (you can read it), but Pastor Keith hit the nail on the head when he said, "A woman needs to feel something, and so her porn might be in words that touch her emotionally--romance novels that portray the ideals of new love, depicting a woman being swept off her feet by a hero."    I applaud him for saying that, because ...That's my story... And I know I wouldn't be where I am today if God had not, in His marvelous grace, provided me with a wake up call like the one Pastor Keith offered this morning. Because, I can tell you right now, it's a sneaky addiction.  It doesn't look that wrong!  It's just a book (or to be ...

Hope . . . I love that word!  It's a word that brings so much life & joy, but only when it's used rightly. I'm here to tell you today that my hope as a single woman is not placed in the possibility of marriage someday.  I don't live for that time, and I don't believe that will be when I am finally and perfectly fulfilled.    Jesus fulfills!   HE  is my hope.  Today and forever I rest in those truths! That said, I would still love to be married someday.  I still PRAY for my future husband.  However, I'm not promised marriage in this life.  For today, I've been given the gift of singleness, and I want to live fully in today. . . taking in all the joys and sorrows that are in this moment!  I want to embrace the people in my life today. . . loving them and my Savior unreservedly. Those words are my heart. . . but there are times when it's hard to remember them.  There's this lie floating around that too many peop...

I planned on leaving for a dear friend's wedding this evening.  Plans change.  Some sickness has set in at my house, and we aren't able to make the trip.  Sadness and disappointment resulted. This morning though, as I sat with the Lord, He reminded me that the most glorious of weddings is yet to come . . . and no sickness can change the fact that I will be there!  Oh . . . words fail me to describe the GLORY of that thought!  I am so thankful for my Jesus.  There was a time when I was sick--dead, actually--He brought healing and life.  Through His death, I live, and one day will be a part of the most glorious and beautiful wedding of all time. =) =) I'm beyond thankful.  Missing this wedding is sad, but missing that wedding would be devastating.  I rejoice that I can be confident I won't!  And my heart breaks for those who will realize they are sick too late.  Do you know this, friends?  Have you accepted Jesus' gift of hea...

Scribblings, prayers, and music from March of the year just past . . . 1~May every moment of my days be saturated with You. 2~You are enough, Lord!  I choose to believe that’s true, because it is, even when it doesn’t feel like it.  Truth over emotion! 3~On my own I would respond with impatience and frustration . . .  I need Your grace to flow through me.  To think through me. 5~It’s hard, Lord, my eyes are filled with tears and I don’t really know how to extend grace.  I love her, but I don’t really know how to love.  Teach me, please! . . .  Lord, when it seems impossible to love, love through me…when it seems impossible to forgive, forgive through me…when it seems like the only option is bitterness, show me the higher way. 7~Fill me with Yourself and make me a gracious woman. 8~Lord, what does it mean to desire nothing but You on this earth?  Could You help me understand that? 10~You know, Lord, that if I try to do th...

I'm a recovering addict.  And I suspect those of you reading this are either on the caught up in or trying to get out of side of an addiction.  We're all seeking meaning in life.  Joy.  Hope.  Peace. Love. Problem is, we live in a messed up, twisted, evil world.  It can't deliver on any of those desires.  Neither can anything in it. Where do you run to escape?  When life is cruel, hard, hurts . . . ?  Where do you let your mind go when you just need to "get away"--when you're craving peace?   I know my drug of choice.  It's getting caught up in the dream world of fiction.  Letting myself believe, if only for the hour it takes to devour a book, that the world can be a much more perfect place.  Getting wrapped up in the life of some imaginary person so that I don't have to face the struggles and problems in mine.   For years, I didn't recognize my addiction for what it was.  After all, wasn't it normal for...

To sit with someone you love as they cry and not have the ability to do anything about the situation that causes the tears, or to hear a beloved voice on the phone break with emotion and not be able to reach out and hug them . . . these must be some of the most difficult situations a person can face.  I know for me they're painful.  This life is filled with burdens, and sometimes they heap up on us till we feel like we're drowning.  Some moments are just hard, sometimes the right words are completely elusive, and often times prayer is all we can offer.  When I start to think like that, I must remind myself that prayer is the most powerful thing we can offer!  Prayer taps into the power of the Almighty God who is ever faithful, created this world, loves perfectly, and raises people from the dead!  His is the power that can change a situation, and use everything for good in the lives of those who love Him. And in those moments when the burdens feel to heavy ...

Today is Easter or Resurrection Day, a day on which we (as those who believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior) purpose to remember His sacrifice for us on the cross.  But not just His sacrifice, not just His pain and death, no we also remember His life.  For He IS RISEN!  When He died He didn't stay dead, but rose again to give us newness of life . . . to offer us the opportunity to choose Him, and in Him, victory over sin and death.  My heart is overflowing today--overflowing with joy!  For these are the truths that bring joy . . . and hope, and peace.  And I want to remember these truths, not just today, but every day.  For they are just as true tomorrow as today, and just as true next month as tomorrow.  These are the truths that put a smile on my face, and make me cheerful even when I am at work and it is 7 in the morning.  I desperately need to claim them as true in my life, to reckon them, daily.  For then I live as I a...

If I were to tell you the past few months have been easy, I'd be lying.  The truth is, they've been anything but.  The path that I'm walking is not one I would have chosen, in fact, if given the option I would have run as far as I could in the other direction.  However, it is the path that God has chosen to lead me down . . . and even though the way ahead continues to look dark and hazardous, looking back I can see His faithful hand guiding, protecting, and wooing.  I don't recall only sunshine when I pause to remember, I also recall pain, frustration, and tears, but weaving through all the dreariness, the gold and silver threads of God's wondrous purpose, love, and hope. There have been dark days and moments, and I'm sure there are probably more to come, but that's not what I want to focus on.  Instead, permit me to draw our attention to the theme that Jesus has drawn mine too over the past week or so: that of hope. Hope . . . it's a word that makes o...