Holding Faith

One woman's spiritual journey through life, hanging on to faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the author and finisher and perfecter of that faith. " . . . that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith . . . " (I Timothy 1: 18c, 19; ESV)

Sunday, September 21, 2008

God of This City

How often do you think about the unsaved people in your neighborhood, your suburb, your city, the country you live in? I am ashamed to say that I rarely do. Yet I need to be as concerned for their salvation as I was about that of my two daughters. God can do great things in your city and mine, but only if we pray (I Thessalonians 517), do not quench the Holy Spirit (I Thessalonians 5:19), and share the Gospel (I Corinthians 15: 3 - 4) as God leads us.

God of This City
(Words and Music by Bluetree)

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You Are

Bridge:
For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Chorus 1:
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Verse 2:
You're the Lord of Creation
The Creator of all things
You're the King above all Kings
You Are

You're the strength in our weakness
You're the love to the broken
You're the joy in the sadness
You Are

Chorus 2:
Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Where glory shines from hearts alive
With praise for you and love for you
In this city

Greater things have yet to come
Great things are still to be done
In this city
Greater things are still to come
And greater things are still to be done here

And the requisite video:


Image of Rochester, New York skyline (my city) courtesy of Wikimedia Central.

Holding Faith,





Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Catherine, who blogs at Catherine Wheels, shared a great quote from C. S. Lewis today:

"The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one's "own" or "real" life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one's real life - the life God is sending one day by day: what one calls ones "real life" is a phantom of one's own imagination. This is at least what I see at moments of insight: but it's hard to remember it all the time - I know your problems must be much the same as mine (with the important difference that mine are of my own making, a very appropriate punishment and, like all God's punishments, a chance for expiation.)"

From The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis.

Holding Faith,





Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Music That Inspires Me

We sang a couple of new-to-me songs on Sunday night. This one - The More I Seek You - expressed the cry of my heart. There's a YouTube video at the bottom of this post.

The more I seek you,
the more I find you
The more I find you,
the more I love you

I wanna sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in your hand.
Lay back against you and breathe,
Hear your heart beat
This love is so deep,
It's more than I can stand.
I melt in your peace,
It's overwhelming



Holding Faith,




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Friday, September 12, 2008

New Template

Please let me know what you think of my new blog template! I found it at The Cutest Blog on the Block, and followed their super simple instructions for installation. The hardest part was trying to find colors that would show up on the template. I like it. Do you? (Oh, I guess I'd better change my live signature to another color!)

No Greater Joy


"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." ~ 3 John 1:4 (ESV)

Do you have children? God has blessed my husband and me with two lovely daughters, both of whom are walking with and serving the Lord.

God is presently doing a phenomenal work in my 18-year old's life. She is being stretched, challenged, and molded in remarkable ways as she responds to God's call to recklessly abandons herself to God. And it thrills this mother's heart. I truly have no greater joy that to know she is walking with her Lord, and to hear reports from others in our church of the impact she is having as she serves there.

"Let [us] thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
~ Psalm 107:8 (ESV)

Graphic courtesy of Snapshots of Joy.

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Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Abandoned To God

This song is on the latest Hillsong United album, The I Heart Revolution. Unfortunately, the lyrics are difficult to understand, so I looked them up, and found that Joel Houston has written another wonderful and thoughtful song. It expresses the thoughts of my heart; namely, that when we consider who God is, what He has done through His creation, and by providing a way of salvation for fallen man, our response should be to fall before Him and offer all we are and all we have in praise and worship or Him forever, to totally surrender and abandon ourselves to our amazing God.

As usual, I've gone to YouTube to find a video for you to watch. The lyrics are after the video.




The Stand

lyrics and music by Joel Houston
-----------
You stood before creation
Eternity in your hand
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
And carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand

So what could I say?
And what could I do?
But offer this heart, Oh God
Completely to you

I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the one who gave it all
I'll stand
My soul Lord to you surrendered
All I am is yours

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

A New Blog

My daughter, Grace, has started a new blog. It's called Recklessly Abandon Yourself to God. Check it out!

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Monday, September 1, 2008

A Contemporary Psalm

Perhaps I should rename this blog Music That Inspires Me. God often speaks to me through songs, which lead me to His Word. Chris Rice has written a beautiful psalm entitled Hallelujahs that I want to share with you today.

Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!

~ Psalm 150: 1, 2, 6 (ESV)


I found a lovely video on YouTube, and the words to the song are below that. (I have had difficulty understanding them unless I turn the volume up loud, but perhaps it's just my aging ears.)


A purple sky to close the day
I wade the surf where dolphins play
The taste of salt, the dance of waves
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs

A lightning flash, my pounding heart
A breaching whale, a shooting star
Give testimony that you are
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs

Oh praise Him all His mighty works
There is no language where you can't be heard
Your song goes out to all the Earth
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

O cratered moon and sparrow's wings
O thunder's boom and Saturn's rings
Unveil our Father as you sing
And my soul wells up with hallelujahs

Oh praise Him all His mighty works
There is no language where you can't be heard
Your song goes out to all the Earth
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

The pulse of life within my wrist
A fallen snow, a rising mist
There is no higher praise than this
And my soul wells up
O my soul wells up
Yes my soul wells up with hallelujahs

Oh praise Him all His mighty works
There is no language where you can't be heard
Your song goes out to all the Earth
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

O hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!

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