Crying the blues
Once again, I’m loving The Message’s interpretation of the Bible.
While reading Psalm 42 today I came across a familiar verse, but this time I read it in The Message version:
Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix my eyes on God – soon I’ll be praising again. He puts a smile on my face. He’s my God. – Psalm 42:5
Wow. God’s just been amazing me lately. Later on, in verses 6-8, David talks about how when he’s down in the dumps, he just recalls what God has done & what he knows about God. Sure, his situation may not change, but he remembers God’s faithfulness & who he is, and he realizes he no longer needs to be crying the blues.
Fix my eyes on God. Soon I’ll be praising again. Yeah, I need to remember to do that. There’s a lot to praise God for. My previous post alone is proof of that. God is good. He’s my God. And he is (or can be) yours too.
Not a baby anymore
*sigh*
I can’t believe my baby is turning one today. This year has been incredible. It started out with the wonderful birth of our daughter, Addison Faith, on January 21, 2008 at 8:06pm (read birth story here). We then started attending Real Church in Hamtramck, MI by commuting over an hour each way every weekend. We then felt God leading us to move here, so we sold our house in a matter of 4-5 months & moved here on August 29, 2008 in faith. Chris commuted back to Toledo for 4 more months, felt God tell him to leave that job without having a new job lined up, so he put in his resignation to quit as of December 24 & got a new job that week, which he started on December 30. We are now on the team here at Real Church and it is amazing.
Just wanted to share God’s faithfulness with you all. Where God leads, He provides. That is SO true. Life with God is never dull & boring. Thank you, Jesus for an amazing year & I’m welcoming 2009 with open arms saying, “Do what you want in us!”
As for Addison’s birthday… I’ll update with a few things she’s doing now that she’s ONE!
- She says “bah” for bye, “mmm” for “moo” (as in what a cow says), “da” for dad, “ma” for mom, “yeah”, “no”, “nigh nigh” to sleep, & “go”.
- She signs (in her own way) “more”, “all done”, “dad”, “hi/bye”, “milk” (for nursing).
- She LOVES her baby dolls & talks to them, rocks them at times, and hugs them a lot.
- She gives yummy open-mouth kisses & lays her head down on me for hugs.
- She loves following Sam around, telling him “no” or “yeah” and “arguing” with him (oh, and he doesn’t like it. hee hee).
- She climbs the FULL flight of stairs in our house without me helping her (although I am always right there just in case).
- She not only walks real steadily, but also runs, especially when she’s taken one of Sam’s toys & knows he’s about to hit her or scream at her.
- She backs herself up onto your legs if you’re sitting on the floor so she can sit on your lap.
- She likes to “read” books – she’ll sit with a book, flip through the pages, and very intently look at them. Then sometimes she’ll eat them.
- She eats almost anything we give her, although her main dish is still mama milk. She likes: northern, black, and pinto beans, corn, raisin bran flakes, little bits of pulled pork, cheese, fries, cheerios, bread, crackers, apples, & chicken. She’s open to trying anything new, at least a few times.
- She makes us smile, laugh, and appreciate being parents to her & Sam.
I love my kids. God is so good.
“Thank you, Jesus, for my family. I’m looking forward to what you’re going to do in my children’s lives as well as in my life & Chris’ life this year & beyond. It’s exciting to be able to serve a God like you.”
Decisions, Decisions
I’ve really been challenged lately by Pastor Chilly & by the Holy Spirit’s prompting to not just ask God to bless what I’m doing, but to ask Him what He wants me to do, and then I know I’ll be in His blessing already. To find His will for not only my life (how selfish!) but for the lives of those around me & to go there & do what He asks. To be His servant.
Matthew 7:21-23 talks about those who think they are saved because they DO stuff in the name of God. They’ve fooled others into thinking they are Christians & even have big Christian organizations sponsoring them. But have they truly asked God what HE wants them to be doing (some have; this is not to bash anyone. Please hear me out & keep reading!)?
I can see it now–at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, “Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.” And do you know what I’m going to say? “You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here.” – Matthew 7:22-23, MSG
I don’t mean to make this post about other ministries or whatever. It kinda started turning in that direction but what I mean to say is… I find myself doing this from time to time. When it comes to big decisions I ask God what He wants. But what about the everyday things? Do I ask Him where He wants me to go that day? Who He wants me to talk to? What Bible stories I should read to my kids? What exact words of encouragement my husband needs to hear? I hesitate to ask Him sometimes because I just simply don’t think of it. But sometimes it’s because I am afraid I’ll have to change my plans, however foolish that may be. I need to remember, however, that no matter how good or fun I think MY plans are (whether big or small), God’s plans are always better. How much more would God be able to do through me if I am exactly where He wants me to be? Boy, do I have a long way to go.
What about you? Do you ask God what He wants from you only when faced with a big decision? What about daily decisions? Does it scare you to think He may change your plans? Are you up to the challenge to ask God to direct you in your daily decisions? I am. Let’s do this!
