Blessings in Music

1-29-2012

WOW what a day. We decided against taking Cayleigh to church this morning because it's not easy porting around a trach collar, oxygen tank, emergency bag, suction machine, pulseoximeter and diaper bag in a stroller - plus, we wanted to keep her home and away from people. (no offense, people)

At any rate, Nic went to pick up Tayla & Jacob who'd both stayed overnight at their friends house and the kids, Juliette and I packed into the good old mini van {yeah, I drive a mini van. Better yet, I'd LOVE a conversion van. Oh, I went there} and headed to church. What an AMAZING sermon today on a verse I'd written on my bathroom tub stall in Crayola Bath Crayons several weeks ago (1 John 4: 7-12)

In a nutshell... God is love. We are made in His image. Therefore - we should love. He touched on how, in the Garden of Eden, before the fall God never commanded Adam & Eve to love one another. He commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, but never had to say "Love one another". Why? Because God loved man, man loved God and man loved one another. Immediately after the fall what happend in Genesis? God called for man and asked why he was hiding. Man replied it was because he was naked. When God asked who told him he was naked - he says the woman you gave me did this to me. For his own problem, man 1st blamed God, then (wo)man. The love was gone at that moment for man to man.

THINK.... Have you ever thought "Does Jesus really love me?" Whether in words, in fear or in action.. have you? Think about it this way.... A man and his best friend grew up together, purchased their first car together, enlisted in the Army together - they did EVERYTHING together. Then, one day, the man and his buddy, Ray, are sitting in a foxhole, eating chocolate bars. Suddenly a grenade is thrown into their foxhole. Ray looks at his friend, smiles, drops his chocolate bar and threw himself onto the grenade. The man had a terrible time dealing with this. He thought, without a doubt, that Ray must be angry with him - that the man hadn't done enough, that he was the one who should've died and he wasn't good enough to be saved from the blast. But as the man and Ray's momma sat on a couch together he asked her "Do you think Ray still loves me?". Ray's momma stands, shakes her finger at him, points to the picture of her boy and cries "Didn't he show you that by dying for you?"

ACCEPT that the Lord loves you. When the enemy tempts you with thoughts, with fears, with situations that might make you think you are not worthy of Him, that you should blame Him or that He doesn't unequivically LOVE you -- - just imagine yourself standing before God. He points to the cross and then at you and says "Didn't I show you that by dying for YOU?"

Jesus LOVES you. YES, Jesus love you!

This song is on my heart and I wanted to post it for you, whoever you are, tonight. It moves me, brings me to tears everytime.. how GREAT THOU ART my Lord, how GREAT THOU ART.


I am GRATEFUL for..

#1 MY LORD
#2 MY SALVATION
#3 My HUSBAND
#4 My CHILDREN
#5 God's PROMISES
#6 God's LOVE - ever lasting, never changing, without ceasing - forever and ever.

For THAT I am thankful