"Build Your Kingdom Here"

    This morning as I was hanging up the laundry to dry, this song popped into my head. Like any normal human being, I started singing it out loud, and then since I didn't feel like I was doing it justice, I found the song on my iTunes, turned the volume up to max, and belted out the lyrics while finishing my work.
    I first heard Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective Experiment a few months ago on the K-LOVE radio station. I immediately fell in love with the song. It has a catchy tune with a strong beat, and I love the contrast from one singer to all five and from pretty much all-out instrument playing to pretty much acapella.
    And the lyrics. Wow! That is actually one of the first things that caught my attention about this song.

Come set Your rule and reign
In our hearts again
Increase in us we pray
Unveil why we're made
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
Like wildfire in our very souls
Holy Spirit come invade us now
We are Your Church
We need Your power
In us

We seek Your kingdom first
We hunger and we thirst
Refuse to waste our lives
For You're our joy and prize
To see the captive hearts released
The hurt; the sick; the poor at peace
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause
We are Your church
We pray revive
This Earth

Build Your kingdom here
Let the darkness fear
Show Your mighty hand
Heal our streets and land
Set Your church on fire
Win this nation back
Change the atmosphere
Build Your kingdom here
We pray

Unleash Your kingdom's power
Reaching the near and far
No force of hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts
You made us for much more than this
Awake the kingdom seed in us
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ
We are Your church
We are the hope
On Earth

 



   These are powerful words. We are Your church. We pray revive this Earth. Build your kingdom here. Let the darkness fear. Show Your mighty hand. Heal our streets and land. Set Your church on fire. Win this nation back. Change the atmosphere. Build Your kingdom here, we pray. There is so much that could be said in response to those words.
    But this morning as I listened to the song, it was actually a different set of words that caught my attention. Refuse to waste our lives For You're our joy and prize. How many times recently have I felt like I am wasting my life? Like I am not doing enough, and that there is something more I need to be doing? Hearing these lyrics was almost like a wake-up slap in the face. Because God is my joy and prize, I don't want to waste my life. I want Him to use me however He sees fit. Unveil why we're made. I want others to know that I love Jesus, and I want them to want to know Him too. I want to do God's work, because He brings me joy and how can I keep that joy to myself and not want to share it?
    Going along with that, though, I have to allow God to use me. How many times has He asked me to do something for Him, and I have refused? How many times have I told myself that it isn't really God talking to me? How many times have I held myself back and refused to trust God, refused to give my heart and life completely to Him?
     I must admit, writing this just now, I was almost at a loss as to why those lyrics affected me so much. It wasn't until I wrote that last question about refusing to give my heart and life completely to God that I understood what God is trying to tell me. Typing those words, I can almost hear God saying, Ah-ha! You've got it now! If I truly want to refuse to waste my life, I must give complete control of my heart and life to God. I need to return to my word for 2014--trust. I need to trust that God knows what He is doing and has only good in mind for me. I need to trust that He is in control and He will make sure that my life is not wasted. For He is my joy and prize.

Wonderful Things

I graduated from college almost three years ago. After that, I became one of those statistics that we frequently hear about--college graduates who have returned to live with their parents. If you had asked me during my junior or senior years if this is what I dreamed of doing after graduation, I would have fervently proclaimed "No!"

But three years later, I am more ambivalent in my response. Part of me wishes I had done something else, gone somewhere else, found a different job, etc. The other part of me looks at my life since college and sees all the wonderful things that have happened that would not have had I done something else, gone somewhere else, found a different job, etc.

One of these wonderful things is my Sunday school class. For the past two years I have been a co-teacher for the preschool class at my church, something I would have never imagined doing before. Each school year, Linda and I have been teachers to seven to eight wonderful little munchkins, ages two to five.

Spending an hour each Sunday with these children has become the highlight of my week. I love seeing their adorable little faces lighting up with joy when they enter the class and see me and Linda. I love reading the same seven books over and over again while one child sits in my lap and a few others crowd around to see the pictures. I love playing hide-and-seek with them in a room that lends itself to only four or five different hiding spots. I love listening to their stories of what they did that week. I especially love to hear them call to me, whether in class or during church--"Miss Mallori! Miss Mallori!"

So, you can probably understand how my heart warmed when my recently-turned-five-years-old munchkin--the oldest in our class and my favorite (am I allowed to have favorites?)--gave me this homemade card for Christmas:

 

What is one time that you made a questionable/hard choice and had something wonderful and unexpected occur as a result?

 

 

                   For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you

                   not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create

                   rivers in the dry wasteland.  ~ Isaiah 43:19

 

"Finally a Bride" by Renee Ryan

 

 

   This is such a good book! I enjoyed every minute of reading Finally a Bride by Renee Ryan. This was my first book written by her, and I have to say I look forward to reading others by Renee.

   From the moment I picked up Finally a Bride, I had a hard time putting the book down. The pacing was fast, and while in some books I find this can create a superficial, and sometimes laughable (that would be a laugh of disbelief), storyline, it worked well in this book due to the fact that the main characters had been in love seven years earlier. It didn't seem so strange then that after only a few days they were visibly and madly in love.
   I enjoyed watching Garrett and Molly fall in love all over again. Assumedly covered in a previous Charity House novel, Garrett and Molly were once sweethearts but had a falling out when Garrett left for law school. This novel picks up their story seven years later with Garrett back in town and working at a local law firm. Molly is now a companion to wealthy Mrs. Singletary.
   One thing I really appreciated about this novel were the flaws of the main character. During the book, Molly and Garrett both come to terms with their prideful behavior and how that affected their relationship so many years ago. This flaw is one that is universally relatable. I'm sure at one time or other pride has held each of us back from something we later regret not doing or saying.
   Another flaw Molly has is her fear of being left alone. She is required to take a leap of faith and trust God. One of my favorite lines in the book is Mrs. Singletary's rhetorical question to Molly, "What's faith, my dear, if it doesn't endure when we're most afraid?"

Happy New Year!!

2014 is finally here! It's hard to believe that another year has ended and a new one has begun. I know everyone says that, but it's true.

I don't normally make a New Year's resolution. For me, I know that I can make a resolution but probably won't see it through for very long. I know I have a defeatist attitude in that regard, but I don't see the point in making a resolution that I know I will break within the next week or so.

The one thing I did start doing a few years ago is choosing a word for the year. I first heard about this on K-LOVE (http://www.klove.com/) in January 2011. The idea is to find a word to define the upcoming year for you; a word for you to ponder and hopefully draw you closer to God.

My first year my word was DELIGHT. Delight in those around me; delight more in God; and have God delight in me. My word for 2012 was HOPE. For a while at the end of 2011, I was feeling like I was losing hope. But for 2012, I wanted to hope again. Hope for a future; hope for a better relationship with God; and hope that in all things God is with me. I never thought about it last year, but God brought this concept of choosing a word to define the upcoming year to my attention again a couple of weeks ago.

I have not done the best job at keeping up communication with God but have been trying harder the past month. And He has been speaking to me. He has been telling me that I am not relying on Him enough (and probably worrying too much). So my word for 2014 is TRUST. Trust in God and trust that everything will work out alright in the end. Here is from my journal entry regarding this:

God, I trust You. I trust that You will take care of me and that you know what is best for me. I trust that You will always be with me and will always love me. I trust that You hear me when I call and will answer. I trust that You will guide me through the future. I trust that You have a plan and You know what You are doing...I trust You.

It seems so simple when I see it written out like this, but in real life...well, real life is complicated. I'm at the point in my life where I am looking for a full-time job and trying to decide if I should go to grad school or not and, if so, what I should study. I have also reached the age where many of my friends are getting married and/or having children, yet I have never even had a boyfriend. It's hard to trust that God really does have someone special out there for me.

So, these are some of the things that I must learn to trust God with. One of my RAs gave me this handy reminder of what it means to trust:

Total                     

Reliance (on God)

Under                   

Stress &               

Trials                    

 

I haven't done it yet, but I plan on writing this on my mirror. That way I will see it every morning as I get ready for the day. Plus, if I continue communicating with God and listening for His voice, I know He will continue to remind me that I need to trust in Him.

So what is your word for 2014?
 

 

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.  ~ Psalm 9:10



Big Daddy Weave--Yours Will Be (The Only Name)

I first heard this song on the radio this summer. It took a couple of times of hearing it for the words to finally sink into my pre-occupied mind. But when they did, oh boy! I soon bought the song on iTunes (which I don't normally do), and I'll admit, I secretly rejoice now when it comes on the radio. I LOVE this song! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do and really think about the words in the song.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnDTDLOM0rY

"The Only Name (Yours Will Be)"


Yours will be the only Name that matters to me

The only One Whose favor I seek
The only Name that matters to me.

 

Yours will be
The friendship and affection I need
To feel my Father smiling on me
The only Name that matters to me

Yours is the Name the Name that has saved me
Mercy and grace the power that forgave me
And Your love is all I’ve ever needed

When I wake up in the Land of Glory
And with the saints I will tell my story
There will be one Name that I proclaim

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, just that Name



It's That Time of Year!

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the music.

I LOVE Christmas music. Starting the weekend after Thanksgiving, I start listening to Christmas music whenever possible. When I'm working on my home computer or my work computer, I bring up my "Christmas Music" folder on iTunes and hit "Shuffle" and let the music wash over me. Some of the singers that make a frequent appearance during the season are Relient K, Bing Crosby, Michael W. Smith, the Chipmunks, Frank Sinatra, Josh Groban, and my personal favorite, Peter, Paul and Mary. Of course there are others that I listen to, but these are just some of my "go-to" singers/bands.

My other favorite resource for Christmas music is K-LOVE. I can listen to it on my car radio or online (http://www.klove.com/). A national Christian radio station, their motto is "Positive and Encouraging." The songs and stories told always manage to lift my spirits and draw me closer to God. If you've never listened to K-LOVE, I highly recommend the station. Even if you don't enjoy Christian music, their Christmas station is one worth listening to. Just go to their website, http://www.klove.com/, and click Listen Online. I promise it's worth it.

What are some of your favorite Christmas singers/bands, songs, and/or radio stations?

I heard the bells on Christmas day.
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Living in the snow belt of New York State, it is expected that we'll get some lake effect snow at some point during the year. Well, it's here! These pictures were taken approximately 36 hours after the snow started, and we received almost two foot total. Enjoy! 

 

Approximately 11 inches after almost 36 hours




 

Picnic anyone?



Our own real, live Christmas tree--with snow!






Our neighbors--They were still open despite the snow!

There's a driveway there somewhere under all that snow.