Great Is Thy Faithfulness!

"This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21-23

These verses came to my mind when I first heard of the tornado that ripped through the section of Alabama where every aunt, uncle, cousin, grandma, grandpa and parent I have lives! We are so thankful for God's mercy and faithfulness to us. There were some close calls, but every one that we know has been found alive and without serious injury! Entire towns that I grew up in are completely gone and many people are facing a loss of every material possession they have. It is times like these that show you how strong your family's and friends' faith is, and I'm blessed to be able to say it has stood the test!

Please be in prayer for those who have been affected by this disaster. I have several family and friends who have lost everything, and there is a lot of property damage everywhere. Even this morning, though, we saw God's goodness as people volunteered to help out, and this afternoon, God showed his greatness again as we finally heard from two family members who had not been heard from since the storm! God has been good to our family, and we thank Him for it.

Catching Up and Celebrating Resurrection Day

Wow! The last two weeks have been crazy...thus, my absence in the blogging world. We had the unexpected opportunity to go see my sister and her new baby (and the rest of the family, of course) last week. The big catch - we did it in a semi trailer. One word description - EXHAUSTING! I think I bounced enough that I should have burned enough calories to have lost 10 pounds! The ugly truth - I gained three! I was also thinking on the way home that I have not one single funny incident to report....our life has officially become boring despite the fact that we traipsed halfway across the United States in a semi!

So, the trip consumed last week. The week before that was just a struggle in everything. A day like that is bad, but an entire week like that is AWFUL! I am looking forward to beginning this week with a fresh new start and hopefully a lot more motivation.

We celebrated Jesus' resurrection yesterday. Our church always begins the weekend with a Good Friday service. This is something I had never been a part of until we began this at our church a few years ago. It has become one of my favorite services of the year. Focusing on the Last Supper and Jesus' death makes Resurrection Morning so much more meaningful. On Saturday night, we read about Jesus' crucifixion to the kids. It was so thrilling to answer the kids' different questions and to watch their faces as they realized that Jesus did this for them! Then, the next morning, we woke up to joyful celebration that Jesus did not stay in the tomb, but He rose again and lives for us today!

In my personal quiet time, I read the story of Jesus and Mary Magdalene in John 20. Everytime I read it, I cannot help but cry. The tenderness and love that Jesus expresses to Mary as he says just one word - her name - just leaves me in awe! How personal Jesus was to her! Her response as soon as Jesus said her name showed that she loved Him in return and knew Him well. I began thinking of the song written from Mary's perspective. "I've just seen Jesus. I tell you He's alive. All that I've done before won't matter anymore. I've just seen Jesus, and I'll never be the same again." I realized that because my Jesus is alive, He can be and, praise God, is as real to me as He was to Mary! I've never seen Him in person, but I can have such a sweet, personal, intimate relationship with Him because He is alive. Because of that, I'll never be the same again!

Then, I began to think of all that I've studied this year in the books of Philippians, Ephesians and Galatians and of how God has given me so much more than salvation. He has made me His heir. He has adopted me. He lets me call Him Abba Father. He infuses me with His strength. He allows Jesus to intercede for me. His love for me is measureless. He has sealed me with His Holy Spirit. He has empowered me with the Holy Spirit. The list could go on. I am so thankful that Jesus is alive and that He is my Savior and so much more! And that is why, today, the very least I can do, is live my life completely for His glory!

Letting God Write My Song

I came across a song this morning, and I cannot seem to forget the words. The name of the song is "How Emptiness Sings" by Christa Wells. I am not a big fan of CCM, but the words to this song were very captivating. The verses speak of how different people are going through hard times - struggling to keep their heads above the water. The chorus then says this:

Glory to God, Glory to God.

In fullness of wisdom,

He writes my story into His song

My life for the glory of God.

God uses our heartache to write a beautiful song! Our life can be better used for His glory when we let Him write our story. I sometimes forget what a wise and all-knowing God I serve. He sees the entire story. I cannot. He knows how my song will end, but I do not.

But the part of the song that captured my heart and thoughts is at the very end.

Glory to God, Glory to God,

This is how emptiness sings,

Oh this is how emptiness sings!

Did you catch that, hurting heart? The way we bring glory to God is by emptying ourselves and letting Him fill us with His glory! You may be hurting, bleeding even, with a wound so great you can't imagine how anything good could ever come from this trial you are in, but God has promised that when we are weak, He is strong (II Corinthians 12:9). It seems that those who experience the most hurt are able to bring the most glory to God.

Maybe you are not one of those going through a painful experience or trial right now, but you can still empty yourself of yourself everyday, and by doing this, you are allowing God to fill you with Himself. Emptying yourself - a daily, sometimes minute by minute, decision that requires sacrifice and self-denial but allows God to write your story into HIS song - a song of glory to Him!