by jove, i think i've got it!

I was thinking last night how much I love music and how I have so many favorite songs. There are just too many to name! Well, I thought about how people have Verses for the Day, Devotionals for the Day, Quotes for the Day, etc. Then a light clicked on and I thought, why not have a song for the day! Ingenious isn't it? : ) So I will attempt to have a song for each day. If I don't get to it every day, I'll shoot for every other day. We'll see how I do.

So today's song...it's one I just heard not too long ago but every time I hear it, I want to turn it up and sing it as loud as I can! It's "Top of My Lungs" by Phillips, Craig and Dean. I found a video on youtube that is done by a church praise team. It is a beautiful song. I hope you will take time to listen to it. Perhaps you will even find yourself singing at the top of your lungs as you praise God for all He has done!

Psalm 89:1 I will sing of the LORD's great love forever;with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.

it's been a long, long time...

I kind of went on a bit of a hiatus from writing on my blog and I’ve missed it. I guess when you have time on your hands, you tend to do other things and things that have more priority…other things get left behind. This definitely was one of those things. But I’m back and it’s time to move forward…

Things have been good.

Life is good.

I spent some time back home with family celebrating my dad’s 70th birthday. What a fantastic time that was! I am so blessed to have been able to be a part of it. My dad has a tremendous testimony for Christ and has given me a godly heritage and legacy that I hope to continue.

Work is great.

Yuma is hot.

Hubby is wonderful.

God is AMAZING!

There is a song that’s been stuck in my head for a while, “I Am” by Mark Schultz. It uplifts me and encourages me every time I hear it. Here are the words:

I am the maker of the Heavens
I am the bright and morning star
I am the breath of all Creation
Who always was
And is to come

I am the One who walked on water
I am the One who calmed the seas
I am the miracles and wonders
So come and see
And follow me
You will know

I am the fount of living water
The risen Son of man
The healer of the broken
And when you cry
I am your savior and redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The author and perfecter
Beginning and the end
I am

I am the spirit deep inside you
I am the word upon your heart
I am the One who even knew you
Before your birth
Before you were

Before the Earth (I am)
The universe (I am)
In every heart (I am)
Oh, where you are (I am)
The Lord of love (I am)
The King of Kings (I am)
The Holy lamb (I am)
Above all things

Yes, I am almighty God your father
The risen son of man
The healer of the broken
And when you cry
I am your savior and redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The author and perfecter
Beginning and the end
I am

I’ve highlighted the lines that just really encourage my heart. He is the healer of the broken…He is the one who knew us before we even were…what an amazing visual and just makes me realize my worth in Christ and His amazing love. HE IS EVERYTHING WE WILL EVER NEED! End of story…

beautiful

when i was a little girl i used to listen to The Kids Praise Albums. they were full of great songs that i used to love to sing. recently i've had one in my head that i have been humming to myself for a few days. it's called "Beautiful".

Beautiful, Beautiful
Jesus is Beautiful
And Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life.
Carefully, touching me,
Causing my eyes to see.
That Jesus makes beautiful
Things of my life.

thank you

I received this in an email the other day and thought it was too good not to pass along.

DEAR GOD:

I want to Thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive rewards;
I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until I feel better or things look better;
I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until people say they are sorry or until they stop talking about me;
I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until the pain in my body disappears;
I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until my financial situation improves;
I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until the children are asleep and the house is quiet;
I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job;
I am going to thank you right now.

I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life that has
caused me pain or grief;
I am thanking you right now.

I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed;
I am thanking you right now.

I am thanking you because I am alive.
I am thanking you because I made it through the day's difficulties.
I am thanking you because I have walked around the obstacles.
I am thanking you because I have the ability and the opportunity to do more and do better!

I'm thanking you because, FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me!

i finally found it!!

Wow, all week I’ve been trying to find the title and artist of a song I’ve been hearing on the radio. God has always worked in mysterious ways and today this morning I saw that at work. Earlier this week I woke up with a song in my head. All I could sing and remember was the lyric that said, “Holy holy, Lord God Almighty is He. Yes we know who You are.” I just kept singing that over and over again and couldn’t get it out of my head! I looked online searching for anything I could find and found nothing. I even tried to ask people I knew if they had heard the song and no responses back. I kept listening to the radio hoping that song would come on and I didn’t hear it again until today.

Well, as I mentioned earlier about God working in mysterious ways, this morning on my way to work, I witnessed an accident. I ended up calling 911 because I didn’t know if the people involved had a cell phone or not. So that delayed me a little getting into work. I turned my car around to make sure there was no one injured in the accident before I continued to work. As I turned my car around and headed towards church, the song came on the radio!!! I turned it up and was trying to listen for any clue that might tell me the title. I wrote a bunch of words down and thought that might be of help. But then I thought why don’t you just call the radio station and ask them! I did and that lead me to the artist and title of the song that had been stuck in my head all week!

The artist is Sarah MacIntosh and the song is called “More Than Hands”. I was able to find the song on Sarah’s myspace page. You can go there and listen to the song. It is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard lately. Click on the website to listen http://www.myspace.com/smacintosh.

These are more than hands
My feet have been called out
The message in my heart
I’ll live and breathe, and shout

These are more than words
Our praise is not our own
The melody we know
We love to sing Your song

We are the people
We are His nation
We are the voice
Of this generation

Holy! Holy!
Lord God almighty is He
We know who you are!

This is more than life
We’re bought and we’re restored
You died our souls to save
Your Spirit found it’s home

You’re the name above all names
You’re the high and lifted up
You’re the king above all kings
You’re the reason we cry out!

Adoni! Emmanuel!
Jehovah-Rapha! Elohim!
El-Shaddai! El-Olam!
Standing shouting we will sing!

Worthy! Worthy!
You reign in Majesty
We know who you are!

Precious Savior
We know who you are

what do i really need?

My Pastor challenged us last week in staff meeting with John 16:24- Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

When I talk to God, what am I asking Him for? What are my requests made up of? Am I seeking His will or just giving Him my wish list? Am I asking Him for my joy to be complete? It's challenging. Here are some other versions of this verse.

"This is what I want you to do: Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!"~MSG

"You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy."~NLT

"You have not asked for anything in this way before, but now you must ask in my name. Then it will be given to you, so that you will be completely happy."~CEV

God wants us to be happy and to be filled with the joy only He can give. My focus needs to change from what I want to what He wants. Then my joy will be complete.

lessons from eagles

yesterday in staff meeting i learned something that i didn't know before. the pastor was sharing how baby eagles learn to fly. he said that when it's time the parent will stir the nest and cause them to fall out. as they are falling and trying to figure out how their wings work, the parent will fly down and catch the baby on its wings...not catching it with its feet because the talons would shred the baby to pieces. it was an interesting visual to me of how God carries us...how we soar on eagles wings. i found this article about the eagle online and i loved the explanation as well as the Biblical comparison.

Isaiah 40:28-31

The eagle is a symbol used many times in Scripture, in fact, it is mentioned 38 times throughout the Bible. We can learn some important lessons from this majestic creation of God. Eagles have a wing span of 2 meters and are around 90 cm. tall. The eagle mates for life and use the same nest for life. This nest is built in a safe place, often on the ledge of a sharp cliff. It is built to last and the largest nest reported is 9 ½ feet wide and 20 feet deep.

When the babies are born, both parents assume responsibility for their care. They are gentle parents, sitting on the eggs for one month. The parents bring food up to the nest and feed them small pieces of meat. Within 45 days they can weigh nearly 40 times their birth weight. At three months they get special feathers for flying and a new learning experience begins. ***The mother eagle flies into the nest and begins to thrash around causing a great commotion. Eventually one of the babies will fall out of the nest and begin heading for the earth below. Never having used his wings before, he's not really sure what to do, but does do lots of flapping while heading straight down! Just before the baby hits the ground, the mother eagle flies underneath in order to 'catch' the baby on her powerful wings and she flies him safely back to the nest. This continues on day after day until all the babies learn to fly.

There are two verses in scripture that actually mention this routine of the eagle. In Deuteronomy 32:10, 11 Moses reminds the children of Israel how God cared for them and guarded them just "like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions." Again in Exodus 19:4 God says that "He will carry the children of Israel on eagles' wings".

We can get very comfortable in our 'nest'. Perhaps that could be our way of doing things, our way of thinking, our opinions, our way of living life. Then when God comes and 'stirs up our nest' we get upset. We don't always identify this as a growing experience. Sometimes if we were really honest, we really don't want to grow. We get very complacent and satisfied with where we are and any interruptions are viewed as negative. But God wants us to fly - to become all that He intends us to become. He never stirs up our nest without good reason!

The eagle can see a rabbit two miles away. It can soar up to two miles above the ground and can fly at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. They have a separate eyelid which slides across the eye sideways in order to keep the eye clean and free from dust as they fly. Their bones are hollow and therefore light of frame. Their frame has cross ribs like steel bars in sky scrapers. The eagle has 7000 feathers. The back feathers are as long as the head feathers. Their beak is black until age of 3 years and then turns golden.

When eagles are about 30 years old they go through a renewal process.*** They find a secret place high in the mountains and begin to claw at their face and tear out the feathers that have been damaged over the years. As a result, it bleeds badly. But this is necessary for the eagle in order to renew its strength. If it did not do this it would not be able to live to its normal 40 years of age.



Psalms 103:5 says "who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." A time of renewal is necessary for every child of God. A time when we get rid of what is weighing us down, holding us back, aging us spiritually. A time to give up the sinful habits, to give in to the Holy Spirit in whatever way He is convicting us. We need to do this even to the point of renewal with pain! Some things we hold on to so tightly that to let go, actually causes us pain. But in order to have the long, powerful, useful spiritual life that God plans for us, we need to do that. It will renew our spiritual youthfulness.

When the eagle is free to soar in God's creation, they are the cleanest of birds. They were created to be free and to soar to great heights. They were not meant to remain close to the earth in the lowlands. They were created to soar. When eagles are held in captivity, they become one of the dirtiest birds.

God has created us to remain pure and holy and conformed to his image. Don't allow the freedom we are to experience in Him, to be compromised by spending too much time in worldly thinking, activities, and mindsets. Remain clean!

Eagles do not fly like other birds; they don't flap their wings but rather soar. Flapping their wings would use incredible amounts of their own strength and endurance and they would require so much more food as fuel if they didn't soar. Instead they sit on a high ledge and wait for the right wind currents to come. When the time is right, they take off and soar upward. Effortlessly, because they have waited for the right time. There is a special 'up going' wind, that they ride as it circles higher and higher toward the sky.

What a lesson for God's children to learn. How often do we waste strength by jumping out too soon and 'flapping our wings', instead of waiting for God's timing? Waiting is not a popular concept in these days of instant everything! But when we wait on the Lord - wait for His timing - wait for His answers - wait for His direction, and then we can soar to new heights and fly to new places.

"Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles: they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint."
Linda Ozirney
http://www.bgc.ca