Faith Lifts!

Boy does it ever...Faith does lift me and when Faith Lifts was started a while back, I became an avid reader. Today I have the incredible privilidge of having an article featured on there. It's under the Marriage section and you can click on the above picture and it will take you directly to it.
My faith made me who I am today, a sinner saved by the grace of our Lord. May you draw close to Him today.


Karen

Give Thanks

With a grateful heart.
Give Thanks, to the Holy One.
Give Thanks, because He's given Jesus Christ, His Son...

I love making a statement and being reminded of a song that I sang as a youth in church. That was one of my favorites. I have been thinking lately of traditions and wanting to start one in our family. We have started several small ones for the three of us and hope they will continue on as the years do. I came across a cool thing today, though, that I just had to share. On the website Faith Lifts, Katrina wrote about something they do as a family and I think I am going to start it with Boo tonight. Now, we don't have a fire place, so that part will change, but the idea is still good as gold.
I think it's important to remind children to give thanks always. We have much more to be thankful for that we testify too, mainly because of the Cross. It's often that I go days without thanking the Lord for sending His Son, but that should always be on the forefront of my mind. What He did on the cross makes me who I am today. May I not let another day go by that I don't thank you Lord for what you did.

In Christ-
Karen

P.S. - This is my 100th POST!!!

Tags: Faith Lifts, Raising Kids, Thanksgiving

Hear My Praise, Oh Lord!

From the mountains to the valleys
Hear our Praises
Rise to You
From the heavens to the nations
Hear our Singing
Fill the air

Hear Our Praises by Hillsong United

Sunday night was a time of reflection and worship by the choir at our church. It was an amazing experience and as always, the Lord did not disappoint. The choir was full and the testimonies were filled with richness of the Lord. "Somebody's Praying Me Through" was the title of the night and as I sat and listened to the songs, to the testimonies of God's great power and love, I was in awe yet again. I lifted my hands to worship during the song above because I wanted my praise to rise to Him. I got the image of me standing on a mountain and raising my hands in reverance to Him.
Keeping in the spirit of song and worship, we got Chris Tomlin's new CD, See the Morning on Friday night. It's been less than a week, and I think I already have overplayed it...well, maybe not overplayed, but it sure is getting used. We got the Special Edition, since we wanted to extra songs and oh my...so worth it! In fact, songs 11-14 are my new favorites. To give you an idea of how much I have listened to them...the boo bear knows the words to Song 12, Enough. He says, with much joy, "God is more than enough for us!" I agree whole heartedly. The Lord is absolutely more than enough for me. Whatever He gives me in life, well, it's more than enough. I don't really deserve anything, none of us do...we are sinners; but the grace and love of Jesus Christ and most importanly His blood on the cross, that's enough...it's more than enough. It's the ultimate in enough.
It's been a wild year for us...and I predict the Lord has more great things in store in the coming year. It was a year ago this week that I came home from a week long hospital stay for complications with my gallbladder. I sometimes can re-live the absolute pain and recovery that I made. I honestly thought I was dying. I went a whole week without seeing my son and it was the most heartbreaking thing ever when I came home and he still wasn't too sure about me. It took him quite a few days to allow me to do things for him again. The months following that I began losing my hair because of the trauma to my body and all the medications I had taken. My hair was the one thing I really loved and it was gone. I cried once over it. After that, I gave it to Him. After all, God knew the number I had on my head, so He obviously knew the number I didn't have. :) I lost 50% of my hair by the time it was all over. My dermatologist assured me it would come back over time, and a year later, it is mostly all back and all curly again. It is truly a gift from the Lord. See, all during those months, the Lord was assuring me that He was in control, and I was learning to trust Him step by step to bring fruition to those things He started in me.
Around that same time, the Lord called me back to work. I wasn't thrilled about it, but I knew I needed to do it for my family. I felt Him telling me to locate a center for David first and then He would provide the job. As I sent my resume out, I looked at places to keep David around the places to work. I found a great church that has a full-time program and I just knew that was going to be the place for us. The job I got allows me to drop David off there and pick him up on my way home. It was not easy to leave him each day. I missed him, but I didn't let it show at work. I am in a position that I never thought I would be in and they hired be because of my faith. Because I am a pastor's wife. On the retreat I took with my office in August, it confirmed to me that God allowed me to be in this position for a reason. They had interviewed for months for this job and all that time, God was working on my heart, renewing my strength in Him, and getting me ready for these tasks. I don't know how long God will keep me here, but I do know that I am forever changed by the people I have met.
When I was little, the Lord created in me a desire for music. Now, I am not musically inclined, and I don't think I sing all that well (I can keep beat and on key, but that's about it). But all those years ago, he instilled that purpose in me...when I accepted Christ, He began working on that purpose of worshipping Him. The Lord can speak to me through a song in a matter of seconds. My hearts enjoys worshipping and singing praises to Him. I am so amazed at how worshipping Him can change my outlook and attitude on something so quickly.

Hear my praise, Oh Lord! Hear the cry of your child. I love you. Thank you for instilling in me a purpose to worship You and the reason why I worship You. May my life sing the praises of Your name and Your renown.

Over at Faith Lifts the girls are talking about Purpose this month. If you get a chance and you want to chat about Purpose in Life, What is God's Purpose?, What is my own Purpose?, etc., you should click on over there. I promise it will inspire you to dig deeper in your life and pursue all God has to offer you.

In Christ-
Karen

Tags: Chris Tomlin, Faith Lifts, Purpose, Worship

Faith Builder

The girls at 5 Minutes for Mom came up with an idea of building our faith and I have been an active reader for the weeks since it started and today I decided to participate. The discussion question is a great one, plus I had the most incredible worship experience last night, so I want to share share share!

Discussion: What does it mean for our hearts to start beating more and more like God’s? How could this change the way the world sees Christianity?
And then the big one:
When it comes to church, what do you think God has in mind?

My heart to beat more like the Lord's? Oh, I have said those words a hundred times in the last few days. Lord, you truly are more than enough for me. The Pastor posed a great question yesterday during his sermon. "How can I love the Lord and be a follower of Him and not be concerned for the lost?" WOW! That opened my eyes just a little wider. What have I done lately for the lost? What lost person have I loved, talked with, shared Christ with? I believe the Lord absolutely wants us to be concerened over the lost. That was the heart of His ministry. He came to seek and save the lost. My heart needs to be more aligned with Him in that facet. On Saturday, my family and I got up to go work at the local school planting flowers and helping clean up their outside classroom. It was an incredible experience for the three of us and yes, even the little boo-bear got his hands dirty helping Jeremy and I plant some flowers. His allergies were acting up all over the place, but he was a trooper getting down in the dirt, planting and shoveling...it was really a sight. One lady I worked with pulling weeds asked me if we had children there at the school. I said No. She asked, "So you just came out here to work and volunteer." I kindly replied, "Yes". She was amazed. Praise be to God! I enjoyed pulling those weeds, and I know my dad is reading this thinking...she kills plants for a living, don't let her near your flowers!! :) HA! Later that night when David was reciting His verse about loving our neighbors as ourselves, we explained to him that working at the school was just a small part of loving your neighbors. It was a hands on experience that we could teach our son. It was showing Him just a small glimpse of God's heart. It certainly challenged me to desire the Lord's heart more and to open my eyes more to the opportunities we have to be serving.

I would like to think in my finite mind that if the world saw the compassion and love of Christians that it would shake their world, but the fact is they see more Christians not acting Christ-like than anything else. Jesus never gave up doing the will of His father, so we, as followers of Him, should not give up either. If you can show one person God's Love, then isn't it worth it?

The last question is a tough one. I think the Lord wants His bride (the church) to honor Him. I see lots of ways the church does not honor Him, but that's only my perspective and my view. The church absolutely has to adopt the heart of Christ to function well. If the church isn't on their knees, seeking how to be more like Him and serve Him, then the pursuit is after our own agenda. I don't have a lot of answers on how to combat pride and how to make the people tithe and how to please everyone in regards to worship, but I do know that the Lord is pleased by the worship of His people. He blesses those who are obedient. He pursues the hearts of those who are not in His flock. He challenges the weak to be strong. And He loves. He loved us with His life and we ought to fall on our faces on just that fact alone. The church won't run perfectly until the Lord comes back, so we should entrust the men God has called to pastor and lead the church and go from there. Our former pastor said, "Trust God, and leave all the consequences to Him." I love that!

I hope you enjoy the others at Faith Builders today!

In Christ-

Karen

P.S. - I will write later about my worship experience. :)

Tags: Faith Builders