thankful #438

i'm thankful for my church.  :)

i've been goin' there for a LONGGG time.. & the consistency of the spoken word is pure awesomeness..

the where & the when..

wanna watch a short video about it?  click HERE!

thankful # 73

i'm sOooo thankful for my Jesus.

nuff said. ;)

he replaces darkness with LIGHT..  :)

1 John 1:5 God is light. and in Him there is NO darkness at all..  <3

pic details here..

Six Months To Live...

i listened to this one for a second time today..

profound word.. worth heeding..

enjoy.

:)

If I Had Six Months To Live

boldness.. and transparency.

something that we should fight for. there is an absolute dearth of integrity in this world, if you ask me.

& yea, i know u didn't.. LOL..

but i gotta tell ya. i just read THIS article and i'm amaZed at Melody's honesty. yea, so the pain has passed... but the woman has a story to share! and not about some fluffy bunnies either.

she has experienced something that has seemingly left her longing for a sensitivity that she sO needed to experience during her time of trial.

"they" say experience is the best teacher.. WHO is THEY??? well.. anyway, "they're" telling a partial truth.

i pray that we'd ALL learn from this type of situation.. whether by reading Melody's story OR just seeing the NEEDS around us. God is giving me a new sensitivity for people around me.. a burden of sorts. to forget about myself. and think about and PRAY for others.

i know that it's what God wants. what good is a selfish, self-centered bratty girl?

none.

Jesus Christ deserves ALL of the glory in our lil' lives. 'cuz he's bigger. a LOT bigger.

:)

the *REASON* for the SEASON!!

this isn't my writing, but i sure think it's an awesome one! very well put..

isn't it safe to say that it's a good thing to be reminded of the TRUE

"reason for the season"?

enjoy.

Consider where that Holiest King of all Kings was placed on earth--someone who was true Royalty, who should have chosen and been given the finest hospital with the best surgeons money could buy, the best luxuries afforded to man--yet this Holy God CHOSE the dirt-laden floors of a stable. A place that was meant for animals, not even men, to be brought forth to the men of this earth, most of whom were probably born in better places than that lowly stable. I was humbled and asked myself why Holiness would choose dirt, why Royalty would choose poverty, why the Great Provider would choose lack, and ultimately, why God would choose my ugly heart as His dwelling place.

When I thought back to when Christ was born in my heart, and likewise, into the heart of every man, it indeed was a place of stench. A place where only animal instincts dwelt--humanity at its lowest form, humiliation and shame at its highest. And, I have no gifts worthy of a King, let alone another person, nothing at all to offer anyone. Why would a holy God choose to not only be born in, but to dwell in, a heart like mine? The scriptures say He is changing me into His likeness. He is changing His surroundings--the place He dwells in my heart--into a holy place fit for His Royalty. He not only chose to be born in my filth, but He also chooses to clean it, even to transform it into a place of grandeur and holiness. Me? Yes, and even you. The wonder of it all is beyond understanding.

Just as I have a lot to do in making my surroundings fit for my family, so He has a lot of work to do in me to make me a holy place fit for Him. I can't even begin to tackle that project on my own, so He gifted me with His righteousness and wrapped it in swaddling clothes and laid it in my manger. And, as I worship Him and as I lift Him up, He will draw all men unto Himself. Lowly men (like shepherds) and royal kings (like wise men) wonder what it is in this heart of mine that shines so brightly and brings such peace. I know that it is the gift of Jesus within the stable of my heart.

I don't want the house of my heart to be that fancy inn that had no place for a Savior. I desire to find a spot to celebrate Him and let Him dwell in my lowly heart and watch Him transform it into a holy place. And as He clears out the dirty pen, may I say, as that woman long ago said, "Be it unto me according to Thy Word."

I don't merely need cleaner surroundings. I need a clean heart. There is no room in the fancy inn of my human desires, and gladly so. But there is room in the dirty stable of my heart where He is needed most. And there, I bow in the musty hay, before the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and worship His Holiness and praise Him for His desire to live within me. I now have peace because I am one on whom His favor rests. And I sing with that heavenly host, in sincere humility and joyous celebration: Glory to God in the Highest!


"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21)

you can read more from this writer HERE..