Blessed Assurance Hymn

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blessed,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Amen to that! I praise the Lord that I can rest knowing that He is constant, He is unconditional, He is forever, He is my God!

Where's my compassion?

I'm a deer in headlights! My hands are up! I'm caught!

It's unfortunate to live in a culture so entangled in materialism and cut-throat corporate business. Everyone seems to be trying to "one up" their neighbor or out do their own brother.

Is this the way it should be?

It sounds like we live in a culture similar to Jerusalem in Ezekial chapter 16.
In scripture, Ezekiel writes about how from it's birth, Jerusalem was not pitied, it was a city who was confident, maturing and becoming beautiful (Jerusalem is paralleled to a woman). God clothed the people with fine linens and placed a crown on the city's head. Fame spread. Jerusalem was perfect because of the things God had given them. Verse 15 says, "But [she] trusted in [her] beauty, and played a whore because of [her] fame, and lavished [her] whorings on any passer-by. [She] took some of [her] garments, and made for [herself] colorful shrines, and on them played the whore. Despite all this, God continued to bless the city but they were not satisfied. "How sick is your heart, says the LORD GOD, that you did all these things" (verse 30)... I am a competitive person. I want my work to be perfect. I try to accomplish things without flaws. I do my best in order to gain acceptance and approval. In all honesty, my life is self-centered. The passage keeps going, but that last verse caught me. How sick is my heart? "I want...", "I need", "I have to get"... what about the "how can I help", "what can I give", "What do YOU need". I unfortunately caught myself, so self-centered, annoyed by others, trying to please only me. I should joyfully be thinking about how I can help others. What does the person sitting beside me need and how can I help him/her today?

Looking around I see the blessings I have, the extra time I have... I need to start looking for ways to use my blessings to help others who are in need. To think outside myself... to start with my family, my friends, my community, my neighbor, my coworker, my boss, the homeless... the "everyone else".

My prayer today is that my eyes would be open to ways I can show compassion, that my choices would be different than the average American. I need to change. I always ask for grace... it's time I start giving it to others! Instead of feeling guilty, defeated, caught, my goal is to think about what Christ has called me to do... simply love my neighbor. As a Christian this theme seems to capture my attention every once in a while. I say that to say it takes accountability and lots of discipline.

How can you show compassion today?

"Kids say the darnest things"

If the old show "Kids say the darnest things" was still on TV this story would be on it! I heard this story from a lady at work today. I died laughing. Throughout the day I would start thinking about it again and start laughing more! Here's my third person version. The story is rated PG... you might read it to yourself before you read it aloud.

A lady I work with has a friend who is a kindergarten teacher. Her and her students were sitting in a circle as she was telling the story of Jack and Jill. You know "...Jack fell down and broke his crown..." One of the kids raises his hand and asks what a crown is. Before the teacher could answer another little boy yells out "your butt". Another boy grabs his crotch and says "I don't know what a crown is but I've got some family jewels".

I hope this doesn't offend anyone. I hope it made you laugh a little too. Well that's it for now. ... to be continued.

Sundays for the next few months...

Family vs. Football
Family time is a wonderful thing. Football is not such a wonderful thing. I did not say football was a bad thing. I can handle one game... I just don't appreciate it as much as I appreciate my family. When you put the two together it's just... I don't even know what to say.... Not my favorite. But I will say this... you don't know football 'til you live in Oklahoma. These Oklahomans know how to watch and cheer for football.

On a much happier note, there were 10 salvations at Northview Community Church this weekend! I count myself so blessed to serve at a place that is truly changing people's lives. Pastor Tony did a wonderful job communicating the Gospel this weekend and he leading us on a journey to wholeness! Our Creator desires to bring healing and wholeness to every individual!

Starting my new job has been a difficult/rewarding experience. I love change, but this took some getting used to. Changing from a job where worship experiences was what I planned and then on the weekend I got to see the result... to making crafts all day in the corporate world... two TOTALLY different things. At first I was discouraged and wanted to quit. It wasn't until I spoke with Jaye Clark, a dear friend from church and now work, who opened my eyes to see that I am working for corporation that is giving SO much money to the needy around the world! Although I do crafts all day, for what seems to simply be for a photograph, I am working for a much greater cause... a ministry! I began to realize that I am a part (a very small part) of a great BIG ministry. I can still serve at church and see the direct result of my work paying off once a life is changed.

God's been real big and real in my life lately! There's nothing sweeter than feeling the nudge or pull from the Lord as he directs my life! My eyes are being opened. Lessons are being learned. Growth is definitely happening. Lives are being impacted around me. My mission field is growing tremendously. I am becoming more and more dependent on God. This is happiness.

... to be continued...

Not the beginning but the first

Many have inspired me to stretch my creativity by blogging. It's an opportunity to share my heart, journal, keep in touch with people, and make people smile. So bare with me as I begin.

I'm excited to share the simple things that make me smile each day! This is a story that is constantly going "to be continued".