Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Blessings
Here are the lyrics to a song that I heard on the radio. It really spoke to me and made me think about how God can bless us in the midst of what we think is a tragedy or not the right time. Read the lyrics in this post and then scroll down to the post below this and you can listen and watch the video of the song. (I couldn't fit it all in one post) Please read the lyrics carefully and hope it speaks to your heart as much as it did mine.
Blessings by Laura Story
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/laura-story-lyrics/blessings-lyrics.html]
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
Blessings by Laura Story
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/l/laura-story-lyrics/blessings-lyrics.html]
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
God Is...
I am reading a book called Crazy Love by Francis Chan and a couple of paragraphs that I read last night really struck my heart, so I thought I would share the paragraphs on the blog.
GOD IS ALL-KNOWING. Isn't this an intimidating thought?
Each of us, to some degree, fools our friends and family about who we really are. But it's impossible to do that with God. He knows each of us, deeply and specifically. He knows our thoughts before we think them, our actions before we commit them, whether we are lying down or sitting or walking around. He knows who we are and what we are about. We can not escape Him, not even if we want to. When I grow weary of trying to be faithful to Him and want a break, it doesn't come as a surprise to God.
For David , God's knowledge led him to worship. He viewed it as wonderful and meaningful. He wrote in Psalm 139 that even in the darkness he couldn't hide from God; that while he was in his mother's womb, God was there.
Hebrews 4:13 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." It is sobering to realize that this is the same God who is holy and eternal, the Maker of the billions of galaxies and thousands of tree species in the rain forest. This is the God who takes the time to know all the little details about each of us. He does not have to know us so well, but He chooses to.
GOD IS ALL-POWERFUL. Colossians 1:16 tells us that everything was created for God: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
Don't we live instead as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones?
Psalm 115:3 reveals, "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." Yet we keep on questioning Him: "Why did You make me this body, instead of that one?" "Why are so many people dying of starvation?" "Why are there so many planets with nothing living on them?" "Why is my family so messed up?" "Why don't You make Yourself more obvious to the people who need You?"
The answer to each of these questions is simply this: because He's God. He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving. As much as we want God to explain himself to us, His creation, we are in no place to demand that He give an account to us.
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" Daniel 4:35
This section of paragraphs comes from the book "Crazy Love" written by Francis Chan
What I just wrote above is pretty powerful, don't you think? As I was reading these paragraphs I was convicted and it touched my heart. God truly is EVERYWHERE and knows EVERYTHING. He created us after all and sometimes, I think we forget why he created us. We get caught up in the worldly things and that blocks are "vision". God will never leave us or forsake us. We choose to walk away from Him, not the other way around. He was there before you were born and He will be here until the end!
HE ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE! Hopefully these few paragraphs tug at your heart strings like they did mine. How AWESOME is He!!!
GOD IS ALL-KNOWING. Isn't this an intimidating thought?
Each of us, to some degree, fools our friends and family about who we really are. But it's impossible to do that with God. He knows each of us, deeply and specifically. He knows our thoughts before we think them, our actions before we commit them, whether we are lying down or sitting or walking around. He knows who we are and what we are about. We can not escape Him, not even if we want to. When I grow weary of trying to be faithful to Him and want a break, it doesn't come as a surprise to God.
For David , God's knowledge led him to worship. He viewed it as wonderful and meaningful. He wrote in Psalm 139 that even in the darkness he couldn't hide from God; that while he was in his mother's womb, God was there.
Hebrews 4:13 says, "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." It is sobering to realize that this is the same God who is holy and eternal, the Maker of the billions of galaxies and thousands of tree species in the rain forest. This is the God who takes the time to know all the little details about each of us. He does not have to know us so well, but He chooses to.
GOD IS ALL-POWERFUL. Colossians 1:16 tells us that everything was created for God: "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him."
Don't we live instead as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones?
Psalm 115:3 reveals, "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him." Yet we keep on questioning Him: "Why did You make me this body, instead of that one?" "Why are so many people dying of starvation?" "Why are there so many planets with nothing living on them?" "Why is my family so messed up?" "Why don't You make Yourself more obvious to the people who need You?"
The answer to each of these questions is simply this: because He's God. He has more of a right to ask us why so many people are starving. As much as we want God to explain himself to us, His creation, we are in no place to demand that He give an account to us.
All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" Daniel 4:35
This section of paragraphs comes from the book "Crazy Love" written by Francis Chan
What I just wrote above is pretty powerful, don't you think? As I was reading these paragraphs I was convicted and it touched my heart. God truly is EVERYWHERE and knows EVERYTHING. He created us after all and sometimes, I think we forget why he created us. We get caught up in the worldly things and that blocks are "vision". God will never leave us or forsake us. We choose to walk away from Him, not the other way around. He was there before you were born and He will be here until the end!
HE ISN'T GOING ANYWHERE! Hopefully these few paragraphs tug at your heart strings like they did mine. How AWESOME is He!!!
Monday, May 9, 2011
Keeping It Real!
We are going to try something different for the month of May and maybe even June. We are going to keep it real and blog about personal experiences and thoughts that we have. It could turn out to be a long blog post or just a short bit of information, either way we hope that you can still find some sort of connection or comfort through our personal posts! I, Alicia, am going to start today with THE POWER OF PRAYER!
PRAYING is basically talking to God! Yes, it is that simple. You don't have to use fancy words or even have something memorized. It is just a conversation between you and God. I love to hear my 3 year old pray, because it is so sweet and meaningful. A child's prayer is very sincere no matter if they are asking for a new bike or thanking God for their friends and family. My 3 yr old once asked God for some potato chips( I am not kidding). Now my child did not receive those chips right then and there, but I am sure he eventually ate some sort of chip. God does not always answer prayers right away. He definitely hears your prayers, but he will answer them in His time when he knows it is best and it's His will. I have had God answer prayers before right away and then there were times that I had to wait, but I earnestly kept seeking God and praying and when it was His time, I received my answer.
My brother was having some problems with one of his ex-employees and ended up with threats being made by the employee and the police getting involved. So, my brother asked us if we could pray for his(my brother) protection. Of course! This was on a Tuesday. On Monday, Jana had my brother heavy on her heart, and she knew it was God telling her to pray for him. She didn't know what it was about or why, but she started praying. On Tuesday when I was telling her about what was going on, she said that he had been placed on her heart and she had been praying for him. During that whole week there were alot of prayers being said to ask for protection for my brother. Everytime, the guy showed up to work, my brother was not in his office(coincidence, I don't think so). My brother was supposed to hand deliver the ex-employee's check to him but when the day came the employee agreed to direct deposit, so my brother did not have to meet him. Little things like this continued to occur through out the week. My brother had so many people lifting him up in prayer that week that God built a wall of protection around him. God was able to give him a peace of mind and everyone else a peace of mind as well. Now, that is the Power of Prayer!! I have been totally blessed by this recent prayer request for protection. God will always protect His children!
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” – Matthew 7:7-8
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15
PRAYING is basically talking to God! Yes, it is that simple. You don't have to use fancy words or even have something memorized. It is just a conversation between you and God. I love to hear my 3 year old pray, because it is so sweet and meaningful. A child's prayer is very sincere no matter if they are asking for a new bike or thanking God for their friends and family. My 3 yr old once asked God for some potato chips( I am not kidding). Now my child did not receive those chips right then and there, but I am sure he eventually ate some sort of chip. God does not always answer prayers right away. He definitely hears your prayers, but he will answer them in His time when he knows it is best and it's His will. I have had God answer prayers before right away and then there were times that I had to wait, but I earnestly kept seeking God and praying and when it was His time, I received my answer.
My brother was having some problems with one of his ex-employees and ended up with threats being made by the employee and the police getting involved. So, my brother asked us if we could pray for his(my brother) protection. Of course! This was on a Tuesday. On Monday, Jana had my brother heavy on her heart, and she knew it was God telling her to pray for him. She didn't know what it was about or why, but she started praying. On Tuesday when I was telling her about what was going on, she said that he had been placed on her heart and she had been praying for him. During that whole week there were alot of prayers being said to ask for protection for my brother. Everytime, the guy showed up to work, my brother was not in his office(coincidence, I don't think so). My brother was supposed to hand deliver the ex-employee's check to him but when the day came the employee agreed to direct deposit, so my brother did not have to meet him. Little things like this continued to occur through out the week. My brother had so many people lifting him up in prayer that week that God built a wall of protection around him. God was able to give him a peace of mind and everyone else a peace of mind as well. Now, that is the Power of Prayer!! I have been totally blessed by this recent prayer request for protection. God will always protect His children!
“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.” – Matthew 7:7-8
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15
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