I have always loved Christian music! This isn't easy to say but even as a kid when everyone was so amazed with the New Kids on the Block I was listening to Ray Boltz and Amy Grant. When I was in High School my friends and I didn't go to the Mariah Carey concert but we went to Point of Grace and Bebe and Cece Winans concerts. The same goes for now, my radio is always turned to Klove (or the Sports Animal during football season:)). Well, there is a song that is always on and we even see in church that moves me every time and there is one specific line in the song that has a way of bringing me to tears...
"My heart will sing no other name, but Jesus"
I think it gets me every time because that is where I long to be, but not yet there. You see, my heart sings a lot of name besides Jesus. And the one it sings more than any other is Sarah. It sings Sarah when I am selfish. It sings Sarah when I am self-serving. It sings Sarah when I am prideful. It sings Sarah when I have self-pity. It sings Sarah when I doubt. It sings Sarah when I worry. Can you relate?
I have had some pretty intense Dates with Jesus this week seeking his help, wisdom, comfort etc. and what I found was I was seeking answers not seeking Jesus. I was seeking answers when the answer was Jesus. When we seek Jesus we find comfort. When we seek Jesus we find the help. When we seek Jesus we find wisdom. Psalm 105:4 says, "Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him."
One of the people that knew this better than any other is John the Baptist. He could have lived for himself yet he wore clothes "woven from coarse camel hair." He could have lived for himself yet he ate locusts. He had disciples of his own that even came to him and said "everybody is going to him instead of coming to us" and he replied, "I am not Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.....therefore, I am filled with joy at HIS success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less."
He had a heart that sang no other name but Jesus...not even his own.
My heart will sing no other name, but Jesus
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
I Hate to Lose!
Can I just say...I hate to lose! It doesn't matter if I am playing candyland with my 2 year old, wii tennis with my 7 year old, or racing my husband on the scooters...I hate to lose. Then you throw in that I am a wife of a football coach and a chaplain for a softball team....there are times I am not sure if my heart can take it...all because I hate to lose. Can you relate? May be yours isn't sports maybe you can't stand not having the best cupcakes at the school, or you have to be the best dressed at every event, or your house has to be the cleanest in the neighborhood or you feel you just have to be the best in everything all day everyday. We all have our areas where we hate to lose and it gets exhausting and hopefully this blog post will encourage your heart and give you the opportunity to breathe.
I was reading twitter posts of people I follow and I read this quote that was made by CS Lewis, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." Wow! How powerful is that? AND how true is that? We base so much of our happiness on things that we may lose and probably will at some point. Jesus says it this way, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." The ONLY true happiness is when we lay down our own desires, plans, dreams, and pick up the relationship with Jesus that will never go away. When we focus our time and efforts on being more Christlike, when we do lose those things we still have love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because lets face it, we will lose. We will lose games, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose the cupcake war, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose our youthful looks, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose, but we will win with Christ.
Believe me when I say, this is the easiest message for me to type, but the hardest thing to live out. I am not saying I am going to like to lose, but I am truly praying and asking God to help me lose my lifestyle so that I can gain his. I want my joy to come from the giver of life, not the scoreboard at the end of the day:)
I was reading twitter posts of people I follow and I read this quote that was made by CS Lewis, "Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose." Wow! How powerful is that? AND how true is that? We base so much of our happiness on things that we may lose and probably will at some point. Jesus says it this way, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it." The ONLY true happiness is when we lay down our own desires, plans, dreams, and pick up the relationship with Jesus that will never go away. When we focus our time and efforts on being more Christlike, when we do lose those things we still have love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Because lets face it, we will lose. We will lose games, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose the cupcake war, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose our youthful looks, but we still have the love and joy of Christ. We will lose, but we will win with Christ.
Believe me when I say, this is the easiest message for me to type, but the hardest thing to live out. I am not saying I am going to like to lose, but I am truly praying and asking God to help me lose my lifestyle so that I can gain his. I want my joy to come from the giver of life, not the scoreboard at the end of the day:)