Tears of the Saints - by Leeland

My friend's son posted this video, and I just thought I'd pass it along. I haven't done a video Sunday in a long while, so here you go:

Sunday Soccer

Boy, am I missing being at church! I missed last weekend because Dave had a Sunday off, and we attended church in another town. Then, I missed services this weekend because my daughter had a soccer tournament. Her team had their final two games today (Sunday), so I was with her. I wouldn't have wanted to have missed her games, but I truly miss it when I'm not able to get to service, especially when it's two weeks in a row!

Her team lost every game, but they made it into the playoffs by a coin toss. They were tied for fourth place (out of six teams), so the officials tossed a coin to see who would play, and Kari's team won the toss. Kari plays on a U9 team, and they have three players that are 9 years old and the rest are eight years old. Her team was the only U9 team that signed up for the tournament, so they were placed with the U10 girls which have ages ranging from 10 to 11, and even 12 in some cases. So, all in all, they did very well because only four goals total were scored against them in all four games. They held their own with scores of 0-0, 2-0, 1-0, 1-0. Being matched with older teams helped them to see where their weaknesses are though; that's for sure! :-)

I was rather domestic this evening (my friend, Sam, would be proud of me) as I baked four different pumpkin pies and two batches of Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins. My house smells wonderful, but I'm tired now. The kiddos are headed to bed, and I think I'll finish up so that I can join them. Good night!

At the Foot of the Cross-Tammy Trent

It's Video Sunday, and I thought I'd share this great song performed by Tammy Trent. :-)

At the foot of the cross
Where grace and suffering meet
You have shown me your love
Through the judgment you received
And you've won my heart
Yes you've won my heart
Now I can

Chorus:
Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross
Where I am made complete
You have given me life
Through the death you bore for me
And you've won my heart
Yes you've won my heart
Now I can

Chorus:
Trade these ashes in for beauty
And wear forgiveness like a crown
Coming to kiss the feet of mercy
I lay every burden down
At the foot of the cross

I'm including the lyrics, because perhaps the words of this song are ministering to you as they have ministered to me. Do you long to trade your ashes in for beauty? Have you held on to the lifeless, ugly ashes of past abuses, hurts, sins, or failures? I have lived much of my life unnecessarily carrying things that I was never created to carry; in other words, I carried the ashes of other people's actions against me and my own ashes of sin, regret, and shame, and you know what? Because Christ gave His very own life in payment for my sin, I can wear forgiveness like a crown! I don't know about you, but I love that imagery! I can come to the cross with my ashes; I can lay them down, and I can walk away with a crown of forgiveness. Tonight, I am in awe of that great gift.

But to be honest, I think there are a lot of Christians walking around figuratively wearing their ashes instead of their crowns. Think about it, when you see someone who lives in the grace of forgiveness (someone who has kissed the feet of mercy), you may not see a physical crown, but the reflections of light from that person's life are as real as the reflection of light bouncing off a golden crown. But the reverse is also true. When you see or interact with someone who has refused to lay down their ashes, you sense a lifeless religiosity, a deadened spirit, and a colorless existence. Oh my friend, God has so much more for you! I know because I was once that person. Why have you not made that trade yet?

For me, I held on to my ashes for a couple of reasons. First of all, although I was a Christ-follower, I hadn't even come to terms with some of the things done to me, so how could I lay them down if I wouldn't even recognize them? And then, the ashes I wore were what was familiar to me. I may not have liked them, but they fit like an old, broken in pair of jeans. And with some of my ashes I felt I had a "right" to hold onto them because if I gave them up, the person who caused them would be let off the hook. If they didn't see those ashes, they could just act like they never did those things and go on their merry way. Little did I realize that they weren't seeing the ashes I carried anyway, and I was the one paying the price.

I think of those reasons for holding on to those ashes now, and I realize how foolish they were. Had I seen those things as they truly were, I would have traded them much sooner because a crown of forgiveness was mine to wear when I laid those burdens down!

I don't know about you, but I want to continually lay every burden down at the foot of the cross. Although I am unable to fully comprehend the love that Jesus has for me, I want to live in the freedom of forgiveness and grace that He makes available for me.

If you find your are burdened by ashes, I plead with you to take them to the foot of the cross right now. Bow your heart before Him, and tell Him of those things, and confess them before Him. Dare to trust Him with your most hidden hurts; dare to hold nothing back.

And then.....kiss the feet of mercy; look up into the face of love as He places the crown of forgiveness on your head, and picks you up and places you on solid ground.

Video Sunday -Understand by Jeremy Camp

Tonight I'm posting a video by Jeremy Camp who happened to be at the Harvest Crusade here in Turlock on Friday night. I'm too tired for much commentary, so I'm sure the words to this song will minister to you much more than my words here.

Sometimes You Just Need to Laugh! :-)

Nothing makes me belly-laugh like a baby with the giggles! I thought for Video Sunday, we could all use a good laugh, so watch this:

I Need You to Love Me-Barlow Girl

My choice for Video Sunday expresses part of my spiritual journey in dealing with an oppressive, undefined sense of shame that I was smothered by. There were so many things in my past that set me up to be vulnerable to shame, and I unwittingly embraced a messy shame that sloshed and spilled over my whole life. When I came into the pure light of God's love for me, my stain of unworthiness had me bent down, focused on the shadow of past sins, abuses, secrets, and failures. I knew I didn't deserve Him, or His love, but the hurt part of me desperately needed Him to need me, desire me, and cherish me. I was at a place where I needed to truly know and understand His grace and love that could, as the song says, make me forget what I had been, and make me see who I really was.

God's love has so healed particular areas of my life that they no longer hold any power over me, and those things are not a part of my identity anymore. Praise God for His indescribable gift! I no longer live in the fear that someone will find out something about me that will disqualify me from being God's child. In our secrets, Satan wields much power, but once those things have been brought out into God's healing light, Satan's power is defeated.

One of the best books I have ever read is Shame and Grace by Lewis Smedes. I have many things underlined from when I went through this book the first time, and one quote directly relates to this song. It says, "It may be that all the shame we feel inwardly, alone, in the privacy of our souls, is rooted in the fear of being shamed by other people. For this reason, the simplest of all remedies for shame is the discovery that we are in spite of everything accepted by the grace of someone we most need to accept us." So true!

If you happen to struggle with feelings of shame (whether persistent or in unguarded moments), I pray that this song will minister to you. You are sought after by the one and only Holy God; you are longed for by the One who knows everything you've ever done, said, or thought. And you need Him to love you; the good news is......He already does!

Thanks for stopping by. God's blessings to you on this Sunday evening.

Walk by Faith on Video Sunday

I, along with my husband and children, have been so blessed to visit with our friends, Mike and Cindy Heiniger, while they've been out here from Illinois. Mike and Cindy pastor a church in Monticello, Illinois called Crossroads Church. They started the church in obedience to God's call on their lives about four years ago, and I am excited and thrilled to say that they will be moving into their permanent, new building in September! In four years, they were able to purchase land and build a building, so it is evident to see that God is blessing them and their church. I wish I could see their new building in person, but I'll have to wait for another time to be able to do that. However, I can still be a part of it by continuing to pray for them and the ministry God has given them there.

Well, it's Video Sunday, and I'm using the song that Mike ended the service with today for this week's video. I love what this song says, so listen well!

Please remember Mike's message to us from this morning; I am keeping my notes because I have some things I'd like to say about his first point: "To walk by faith, I need to make my choices based on who God wants me to be, not on who I've been." Wow, I am so grateful that I am not what I was, but it is only by God's power and grace. I have a freedom from shame that I never thought would be possible. Also, his last point of: "To walk by faith, I need to make my choices based on eternal, unseen truth, not on temporary, visible lies," is SO powerful. We need to keep that verse, 2 Corinthians 4:18, before us always because it is counter-cultural in our society today. Mike's message was good for me to hear, and I plan on keeping my scarlet cord in my car to remind me to walk by faith.

Okay, I'm off to the coast with the Heinigers! Fun, fun!

Video Sunday -When I Get Where I'm Going

It's Video Sunday again, and I hope I don't lose too many of you by posting a country song! :-) The song is by Brad Paisley, and it is about those who have passed away, and it was played at my Uncle Ron's funeral a couple of years ago. However, the reason I'm putting it up is that this song has a line in it that Dave and I have adopted and written in our bedroom. The line says, "I will leave my heart wide open; I will love and have no fear." I know that those things will be true in heaven, but Dave and I feel that God spoke those words to our hearts for this time and place. He is asking us to have enough trust and faith to leave our hearts WIDE OPEN. As you all know, that is difficult to do when we've been hurt, used, or disappointed, and it's equally hard to love and have NO FEAR. I never thought of myself as a fearful person, but God has revealed to me that because of hurts and disappointments, I let the fear of that happening again cause me to fear truly opening up. I'm sure Dave and I are not alone in having those feelings, so I pray that this song will encourage you to begin to risk opening up your hearts and loving without holding anything back. Also, I know many of you have lost a child, parent, grandparent, or friend, so I hope this song will mean something to you.

It will take the strength of the Holy Spirit and an ultimate trust in God, but through Him we can leave our hearts wide open, and we can love and have no fear. Blessings to you all!

By the way, isn't Dolly Parton's harmony on this song is phenomenal?

Beauty From Pain - For my friend

To my dear, dear friend,
Cling to His promise that THERE WILL BE A DAWN!
"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." Psalms 143:8
Standing by you with my love and my prayers,
Gena


This is just a youtube amateur video, but I put it on here for others that might need this reminder.

Finally Free-Nichole Nordeman

AMEN, and AMEN!