I don't usually get too excited over many things...well..maybe a few things... OK. I admit, little things excite me just as much as big things, but this one is really big for me. I was reading Voddie Baucham's Blog a little while ago and found that he has uploaded a number of messages (18 to be exact) to Sermon Audio . I was so excited that I went straight there and downloaded all the messages that I didn't already have.
Now, just to let you know...I am not in any way putting this man on a pedestal. I truly believe that everyone has the potential to be fallible. However, to date, I have been very encouraged, blessed and challenged by the messages he presents. They are unwavering on the biblical truths that many pastors today either ignore or gloss over so they can be "popular," "palatable," or just to not "rock the boat" so they can "love people into the kingdom." While I believe that we need to love the lost and reach out to them, I do not think we need to water down the gospel or ignore the commands of Christ to disciple/train the church. I've been to churches that think it's their job to give the gospel message every single service (for the entire message, NOT interlaced into a "discipleship" message). Unfortunately, they're usually "preaching to the choir." The one church I attended that had the highest conversion rate...was one that didn't focus primarily on salvation messages, but preached the whole counsel of the Word...expositionally. I could go on..but I won't ...because it would take up way too much time and way too much room...and sound like more of a rant than this already does.
There are also more messages available at Monergism.org . The BEST ones to listen to first...Why Do You Choose to Believe the Bible, Authentic Worship, and Losing the Culture War. There are others that are great, but these are my top choices.
Voddie Baucham is a homeschool dad of 4 (2 adopted), and a SBC pastor in Houston, Texas. His main focus is cultural apologetics and strengthening families. Here's a little taste of what you might hear... (the "message" starts around the 2:00 mark, so you can forward it...)
I was just looking over some things on my blog the other day and was shocked and horrified when I scrolled down my left sidebar. Right underneath my "Moms for Modesty" button was my "Bible Art of the Day" gadget. Normally, I would think good Biblical art from the masters of the Renaissance would be fine...what could be better? Well, needless to say, if you've looked at many works of art from this period, the masters were particularly fascinated with the human body...the NAKED human body. Under my sweet little girl in a modest ballet costume...was Adam & Eve naked as jaybirds about to bite into the forbidden fruit!! I saw it then immediately went into my template and deleted what I originally thought would be good uplifting artwork...forever. I only wish I had been checking on this daily. I have no idea how many times something inappropriate popped up and made me and my blog look hypocritical. If any of you have been on and saw that at any point in time, I want to apologize now for not more closely monitoring that...but it leads me to an analogy of the Christian life...
How many times do we think that something is a great idea because it's dressed in "biblical clothes"...just to find out later that we wished we hadn't participated in/were associated with it? If I had been thinking, I would have immediately realized that many of the "biblical paintings" from the Renaissance were not very modest...or worse. But sometimes it's not so obvious. Sometimes we try to put ourselves into places where we think we will grow spiritually just to realize that it is actually undermining the tasks God has given us to do. I think about this as I desperately would love to be involved in Bible studies, but they are at times of the day that conflict with either our school day or our family time in the evening. So I have given that up for this season realizing that God will grow me through this time of "isolation" as He also grew me through the times of "fellowship"...and one day I will be able to do that again...which I look forward to. But as good as it is, if it undermines the purpose in our lives God has given us, God will not bless it...no matter how "spiritual" it appears. One Bible study in particular was a great disappointment, and I continued about 8 weeks hoping God would use it to speak to me, just to realize that He really hadn't wanted me there to begin with...I didn't learn much, and it didn't grow me any closer to God...In actuality, I found that there were many passages ripped completely out of context to make a non-biblical point...AND the author quoted a few atheistic philosophers...as if what they said was so profound to the Christian walk...but hadn't mentioned that they were atheists. (Friedrich Nietzsche was one of them...the man who said "God is dead.") I learned my lesson the hard way..after wasting 8 weeks on this because I "thought" I needed the "fellowship" of Bible study. (...which is not a bad thing, as long as the CONTENT of the Bible study also honors God).
We do the same things with our kids. How many times have we made sure that they have as many opportunities as possible to learn and grow...just to find out that they are burned out along with ourselves. Afterward, we are just as frustrated as they are. I think of the musicals which we've done (many of which I directed). They had parts or solos, I've been swamped with costumes, sets & all the "coaching"...just to put on a play about the "love of Jesus"..which no one really pays attention to because they just want to see "how good their baby was in their part"...Don't deny it! You know it's true. They have a good message, but really the end result is our children had public speaking/drama & performance opportunity, and we were able to have a part in the production, but the real growth or "outreach" wasn't there. AND after it's all done, we are behind in school and frustrated trying to catch up when we should be having a break like the rest of the world.
Now, I'm not saying that drama and plays are useless. One of them, had a song that taught my kids the Ten Commandments. There are good things that we take away from them, but you have to ask yourself is it WORTH the time you'll spend on it. Are you going to be frustrated when it's over...will the frustration outweigh the time spent on it? Will the things we take away from it build us up or just distract us from God's plan for our life. Satan is the great "distractor" of the church. But he is so coniving that he uses the "spiritual" and "biblical" things to keep us from what God has asked us to focus on...making us think that they are also "good" and "godly."
With a discerning heart, we can make GOOD decisions not only for ourselves but also for our families and children. When we try to "cram it all" in so we can grow more "spiritual" (but not necassarily closer to God), we will most likely frustrate ourselves, and fall short of the goals that God has set before us...which in turn will cause us more frustration and guilt that we let God down..when He really never asked us to "do it all" in the first place.
All this from a lesson I learned from having "Biblical Art" on my blog. Keeping it "clean" & "simple"...
It's been 2 weeks since my counters were "supposed to go in "the next day." (See a few entries back) Well...technically, I have my counters in my house. The ones that are actually attached to my cabinets ("Liquid-Nailed" down) are too small...which the granite guy tried to hide from us by sliding the edge of the stove over it...and the ones that aren't too small are not attached to yet...although they aren't right either. You know I was so excited, and this 2-week hassle ordeal...and counting...has just taken all the joy out of the new kitchen. I know it will be fine when it's all done, but it's becoming increasingly more redundant difficult to feed a family of 8 on whatever can be cooked in the microwave and wash all our dishes in the bathroom sink...even though we use a lot of paper and plastic.
Through all this a few things jumped out at me...1.) I have allowed this to consume me. When I would wake up after a restless night of nothing but "kitchen" nightmares dreams and had a hard time thinking of a subject to talk about other than something kitchen-related...I knew I needed a break from the kitchen. It's easy to let it take over, especially when things go wrong. And when there are a million decisions that need to be made, it's easy to spend great amounts of time on searching for 'just the right" undercabinet lighting or door/drawer hardware. The Bible says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Mt. 6:20) My heart has been in my kitchen (which hasn't even been here) for the past few weeks...and kind of like my blog title...my real treasure is not the wood and rock that make up the final kitchen. That would be a ridiculous as the people in the ancient world who worshipped wood & stone idols. My REAL treasure is in my home...my family...and also in my heavenly home. My kitchen will be done eventually...and it will be beautiful when it is...no matter how "talented" I become at the microwave culinary arts. But it is not my treasure. I was reminded by a friend (who just recently redone her house after devastating hurricanes) that we could feed a small 3rd world country on the amount we've spent on our houses. We have been so blessed, but we ignore our blessings when the "going gets tough."
2.) Trying to decide if God is testing us or "whoopin' our hineys" for something... because things are not going according to MY plans("many are the plans in a man's heart..."). I was listening to my music player...and hear the song "Sometimes He Calms the Storm" (Scott Krippayne). It's an "oldie" but it's a goodie. It reminded me that God isn't always going to make things easy for us, but He will be with us to hold us through the storm. I keep repeating the line"Sometimes He calms the storm, but other times He calms His child." Oh Lord...let me rest in you, so You can receive the glory in this storm. Just like David said repeatedly throughout the Psalms.
3.) The mistakes and set-backs are NOT the end of the world...nor will a perfect kitchen be "a new beginning"...it is merely a "comfort" in this world...something pretty to look at. I know for a fact that when I get to heaven...there are many Christians and martyrs through the ages who will have gleaming mansions...far more exquisite that I can imagine...They deserve far more than I do because of how their faith has been tested and how they have prevailed and endured through that testing...being found faithful in the end. I only hope that my "mansion" is as nice as their broom closet. I have been so blessed and fail to see it most of the time. You can't completely realize how blessed you are until you see first-hand what others live like and the persecution they endure for the sake of Christ. Even though I've been to a couple of Third World countries, they are not the poorest...and they still live far below my "standard of living." Lord, may I be content with the things you have given me. I have food, I have shelter, and I have clothing...with these may I be content...anything else is icing on the cake.
It will get done...and I will be happy when it does...but until then may I be content and rest in the Lord. ...although I'm pretty sure I'll have to ask forgiveness a few times by then for whining.
(And when it is done...I will share more pictures...with great joy!! )
I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise. I rolled over in bed and looked out my window. I wasn't sure if I had seen it right, so I rubbed my eyes and looked again. Could it be?!?! Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I ran outside and snapped a picture of this...
BLUE SKIES!!! After 5 days of gray, cloudy skies I was beginning to think that I was living up north in the wintertime...well, except for the 80+ degree heat.
Here's something else I hadn't seen...
That light spot on the cloud behind the palm tree is the SUN peeking out from behind it. We're going to have SUN today!!! Yippee!!
I'm glad we had the rain because we needed it (although, I'm not sure we needed it all in the same shot and gladly would have shared with some of you that are running a bit short right now...If I could just figure out how to get it to you. ) And I really enjoyed the diversion from the "same-old-same-old." I've always loved it when we get the tropical systems (although I wouldn't want to have them every day), because I love to see the power of the storm. Of course, I'd rather have the little wimpy ones rather than the big strong ones. It reminds me of the story of Elijah in the cave when the winds were whipping around, and the story of Jesus asleep on the boat as the winds blew and the waves crashed about. We trust that God will protect us and take care of us...even if water starts to seep into our house (which it didn't, PTL) or if the winds cause damage (which they didn't this time). He wants us to "rest in Him" throughout the storm. "The wind and the waves obey Him." Nothing happens because of these storms that He doesn't know about or didn't allow. Instead of saying "Why me, Lord?"... to instead seek that still small voice that can't be heard when we are focusing on life's "storms" and say, "What do You want me to do now?" My God is and Awesome God (in the immortal words of Rich Mullins). I stand in AWE of His power over the last week. Not only did He created and direct this storm...that I knew wouldn't be strong as far as winds go...but He dumped almost 30" of water on us (last I heard)...as He stalled the storm system over us for 4 days...that normally would have only taken about 12 hours to pass through, give or take a couple hours.
The blue skies and the sun...well, that's the icing on the cake. It reminds me that when God sends a "storm" in our lives, no matter how long it drags on and how much damage it can do...it doesn't last forever.
This is a short and sweet entry. Lately, I have been feeling like God keeps putting more and more one me...or rather allowing things to come into my life that make me want to cry out "WHY, GOD?!? Why are You allowing this? Don't I have enough to deal with?" There are no answers in sight and nothing is going according to my plan...which I can see now was not God's plan (Is. 55:8-9). And so I rest in the Psalmist's words...
"From the end of the earth will I cry out to Thee
When my heart is overwhelmed:
Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I"
~Psalm 61:2~
When my heart is overwhelmed...the only thing that will ease it is to go to the Rock...the strong fortress..and rest inside safe from the attacks of the prince of this world. High above the rough seas of life that I feel will drown me if I spend one more moment trying to tread water in them. The Rock will not be moved. And when I rest in Him...neither will I.
This morning, I was teaching the older elementary Sunday school class at church. I had prepared for the passage that we were talking about, but I felt like it was a very difficult passage to properly explain to children that young without confusing them. It was the passage in James about faith without works being "dead faith". Now, I understand this, and I understand how to separate it from salvation by grace alone...not by our works. However, as I was trying to explain it to the kids, it was becoming more and more apparent to me that the kids were not "getting" the difference. A few kept referring to "no works" = "not saved" and they weren't understanding the concept of justification vs. salvation...however, we got onto a rabbit trail about worshiping idols (still can't figure out how we got there, but I know it had something to do with the lesson). Anyway, after a few minutes, I realized that the kids really cared about the "idols" discussion, and they weren't getting the "faith-works" discussion.
The dilemma...should I re-direct and finish the lesson? or should I let them follow the rabbit trail of "idols" then quickly sum up the lesson at the end. Then the homeschool teacher kicked in and I decided to talk about what the kids cared about and were interested in. The result was a great discussion that the kids left talking about...and I'm sure they'll remember. They were asking questions and really getting into the discussion...as opposed to the same kids at the beginning of the class time...when I asked them who wanted to be there...2 kids raised their hands, and I told the rest of them (13 kids) they could go back to their parents if they didn't want to be there. (I know...I'm cruel. ) Less than 30 minutes later, 15 totally different kids.
This is why I love to teach these kids. I know that some of them just don't want to be there...but they'd much rather be with me than with their parents in the church service...which is the only other option. When I can latch onto something that interests them instead of sticking to the lesson, they go home "full and satisfied"...and hopefully wanting to come back for more. I just hope that one day they'll remember their old Sunday school teacher who loved God and His Word so much that she just couldn't help getting excited about it and be thankful that they had a great teacher...even if they didn't apply it or fully understand it at the time. I love planting seeds. One day, maybe someone will come back and thank me for taking my time to teach them. Maybe not...but I'm just happy that there are those moments when the kids really truly are seeking to know what God says in the Bible about something that THEY are interested in at that moment. Child-directed learning.
Love those kids, they really keep me on my toes.
BTW...I'd like to take a moment to thank an "old"...not really old...just "former"..Bible teacher from high school. Mr. Pyle, if you're out there, thanks for being such a phenomenal Bible teacher. I'm glad that God in His providential plan allowed you to be my Bible teacher...not just my senior year, like everyone else...but also the ONLY non-senior class you had during my Freshman year. I can't specifically recall half of what you taught, but the principles and foundation you taught have stuck with me, and that you loved God's Word and loved teaching teens...when you could have been a phenomenal pastor/teacher. Thanks for choosing to teach at my school. And even for the great classical music you played during class time. As much grief as we gave you over your classical music, I'll bet you never thought you'd hear anyone thank you for it years later, right?
I am exhausted and humbled. God saw it in His great wisdom to create a creature so tiny...yet so vile to some humans that in it's tiny size, it could bring a grown woman to her knees in tears, crying out to God "Why me?!?!" This creature...The Brown Dog Tick. This past week I found not a few but many, many...many in my house which we had more than likely brought in from a recent camping trip which we took our dog on.
We actually didn't start finding them in the house until we'd been back for about a week, so they had time to explore the house unnoticed for a few days. I recall mentioning to my husband that I didn't think it was a good idea to take the dog camping, but didn't really put up much of an argument...now...many days of hard work vacuuming and washing clothes...and dollars spent on tick medicine, tick dips, groomers, tick collars, and the almost $70 I spent at the laundromat to wash everything we own in one shot rather than dragging it out over a week...and possibly having to spend $200+ more for pest control to COME BACK to re-treat for ticks if they don't go away after the first treatment...I think back to what I said before we went camping...that it would have been easier and less expensive to board the dog for the couple of days we were gone.
In the midst of it all...I was looking at the mountain of laundry to be washed (re-washed in some cases) and the unending carpet and upholstered furniture that needed to be vacuumed (including moving the heavy furniture to vacuum under it)...looking through every toy box and Rubbermaid bin..behind all the books on the bookshelves...Wondering if that little brownish spot on the carpet (the same ones I keep checking) is a stain or a tick... Feeling very overwhelmed, I just started to cry and said...WHY ME, GOD?!?! Why me!! I can't do this...There is no way I can do this by myself." And in that still small voice, I "heard"..."I know, my child. You can't...but I CAN." So my prayer went from "Why me?"...to "Help me!!"
In one night (and I stayed up all night), I finished all the kids rooms, and packed up close to 20 loads of laundry to take to the laundromat (which would have taken me a week to do at home with all the interruptions and distractions), and finished the laundry in 5 hours. I don't think I would have been able to do that if I had tried to do it on my own...I hadn't gotten that much work done in the two days prior...total. It felt good...but what felt even better is that I know that I didn't do it on my own. I had someone there helping me all along the way. I've always noticed that I enjoy working so much better with a friend...what better friend than the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Creator of the universe, the Almighty God, the God who sees me...Who knows me and meets me right where I am in my need and says..."I know you can't do it, but I can if you'll just let go and let Me at it." What an Awesome God!
I'm still cleaning each day to make sure that we get all the ticks, but the task seems a bit less overwhelming when I know that I'm not working all by myself.
...and BTW...yesterday, I had a friend from church just to see how we were doing. When I told her what was going on, she offered to come help. I had hesitated to ask anyone because ticks are one of those things that no one wants to help you with..for fear that they might take them home...kind of like a bad staph infection or fleas...I didn't even want my kids helping for fear that I'd have them crawling all over them. And this lady even has a dog. You know, I was a bit shocked when she asked, because I only expected an "I'll be praying for you" (translated..."I'm so sorry. That must be hard to deal with, and I'll probably forget all about this as soon as I walk away") rather than "What can I do to help?" I even told her that "she didn't have to"...like we always do when we don't want to impose on people, portraying outwardly that we can do it ourselves, but inwardly wanting the help desperately. But In His great wisdom, God had laid it on her heart and she said..."You don't understand...I'm coming over to help, you just need to decided what day and time." Not only did God help me to get more work done on my own..he also sent me a helper.
I love You, Lord, And I lift my voice...
To worship You...O, my soul rejoice
Take joy my King in what You hear
May it be a sweet, sweet sound in Your ear.
So what can ticks teach you about God?...Well, they taught me (once again) that when I realize my need and cry out to God, He can do through me far more than I can accomplish on my own...when I'm BLAMING God. And they also taught me that in this busy world where people are more and more self-absorbed in their daily lives (including Christians), God still moves people to come alongside and help and not just "pray." May God also use me to be the one who helps others when they are overwhelmed...
Well...I just wanted to let you know that Murphy's Law is still valid.
I thought it would be a great day to listen to our Prince Caspian Audiobook to get ready for the movie coming out tomorrow (mainly because I keep falling asleep reading aloud for long periods of time,and also because I told them that they couldn't watch the movie until the read the book..and I am really behind). So I let the kids make castles out of cardboard boxes on the patio. They were done with the "structures" and wanted to paint. I thought this was a great idea. We laid our paint towels down under the castles and they carefully poured out the paint colors they wanted to use into a "contained" tray (which was actually just a box top that we didn't use to build the castles). I thought things were going well...until my 2yo snuck outside while I was in the laundry room and started painting...the patio...which we just had pressure washed yesterday...and my husband hasn't seen it yet...because he's been out of town...and coming home tonight. I had to remember that trials produce patience...which produces character...right? And then...my husband calls as I am trying to figure out why the nozzle won't screw onto the hose properly which makes water squirt...actually spray at a higher pressure than the pressure washer...all over my shorts...that I just put on to go pick up my daughter from dance...at least, they were clean when I went to pick her up.
So I grabbed a scrub brush and started scrubbing the wet patio. Got most of it off. I hope it won't stain, but it goes to show you that if you get your patio pressure washed when your husband is out of town, then before he makes it back to see the beautiful patio...someone will realize that it's just not "comfortable" to have a clean patio. Ahhh....gotta love homeschool crafts.
The best part of the night...My husband was wonderful...He said "It's OK...it's just a patio. I'll just borrow a pressure washer from a friend and take care of it." I think he was trying to encourage me that since I was doing something related to school, it would be fine. What a great guy! (Especially since we hired someone to do it because he "didn't have time." Next time I'll just have to ignore the 23.5 loads of dirty laundry so I can "protect" the clean patio from budding artists.)
Whatever can go wrong...will go wrong...but it's OK because, more than likely, it's something that we can fix or work around. And it's not something that wasn't also planned by our Heavenly Father...so we could produce patience...which produces character.
"Huh? What's that?" That's what I thought at first. But WOW! You gotta see this! Only our great, and mighty, and loving God could be a Master Designer of this caliber.
I was just reading a blog Molly wrote about the different churches they've attended. She really enjoyed her contemporary worship with children able to go to programs so she could concentrate on the sermon...and other churches she'd been to...but now she's in a "family worship" styled church where she sings psalters, hymns and the family all sits together in the service. One of the things that I noticed from her blog is that whatever the new church, even though she may not have liked it at first, but she ended up loving it...Not because she learned to like the music, but because the choice was made based on the preaching of the WORD of God. I couldn't agree more. While the music is nice, it is the Word of God that transforms us...convicts us and draws us closer to our heavenly Father and more like His Son. In a "modern church" era that focuses more on music than the Word, it's becoming more difficult to find a good place where the "meat" of the Bible is preached. Even churches with more "conservative" music are not getting into the meat....rather focusing on the fact that they are "most definitely NOT contemporary" and bashing their brothers and sisters in Christ who don't "worship" (or rather "sing") like they do.
I personally LOVE the more traditional music and even some of the praise choruses that are popular today...but I have serious issues with some of the contemporary music because I fell it is "me"-centered...and really just plain shallow. Not all of it. There are a few really great songs that are being written, but the majority of contemporary music...I get to the end of the song and I think, "what was the point?" I sounds like a song with A.D.D. But It's not my purpose to bash Contemporary music. One thing I recall hearing from a great preacher (Voddie Baucham) is that worship is not about what we "like," our "style," or our "preference." If you haven't ever heard him preach...he is fabulous, funny, and knows how to reach into the heart. If you have never heard him speak...this is the topic that you should hear first. (Click on his name above for the full mp3 message on Authentic Worship) It is incredible. I first heard it about a year ago, but I have been constantly mindful of it.
I am very sensitive to music because I have been a soloist for years...and knowing that every time I stood in front of the congregation, I was responsible for "leading" others in worship....into the presence of God. That's not something to be taken that lightly. It's not a performance. It's not about me...even though I should be worshipping if I intend to "lead" others in worship.
I could have really been angry with my husband when he decided that the Lord was leading our family to a more contemporary style church family than I was used to. I not only wouldn't get to sing the songs I love corporately, but I wouldn't be able to do my "traditional" songs any more in the service. Yeah, a few people in the congregation might like them, but they don't fit into the "style" of the service. But since I knew that worship is not all about the music...or even about me, I could submit to my husband and go to a church that I was not "crazy about" at first because I knew I would miss my hymns.
You know...it's been 9 months...and I have learned new songs (a few that I love)...and I see others around me worshiping...and I can see that the music isn't about me. I have grown to love our church because I know it's where GOD wants us and not where I want us. I'd still like to sing a few more traditional songs (hymns, older choruses, etc.), but I don't want to sit back and pout...discounting all the new songs as being "bad" just because they're "new." There are plenty of songs in our hymnal written a hundred or more years ago that have bad or no "theology" (Silent Night for one... mostly "fluff")...and there are plenty of songs in contemporary music that have bad or shallow theology. Just because we find it in a certain book, or it was written in a certain time period in history doesn't make it "theologically correct" or "better" and vice versa.
The Bible also tells us that we are to sing unto the Lord a "new song"...God doesn't tell us that we are to stop singing the old ones, but not to "discount" the new ones. Every song ever written since the creation of the world was "new"...even the Psalms. Can you imagine David catching flack for writing new songs from the generation who was "comfortable" with Moses' songs of praise. But as you read through his psalms, you can see that the worship in David's heart couldn't be contained. And I am so glad that he shared what was on his heart. You would think that the ruler of a nation would have it all together and not have any anxiety or excessive joy...but David bared his heart to the Lord allowing others to see it as well. Throughout history, we have the blessing of his open honesty. I can't tell you how many times I have been going through something that David went through a few thousand years ago. Like his son Solomon said..."there is nothing new under the sun."
Going back to the point...worship isn't about singing...it's about responding to who God is...which can be done through singing...but also through tears, or conviction, or joy, or giving, or laying our lives at the Lord's feet....dedication all we are to Him...isn't that similar to what the wise men did when they brought their precious gifts to Jesus? The Bible says they laid it at his feet and "WORSHIPPED HIM." Their gifts were worship...along with any other thing they did...and although they may have sung him a song, historically speaking, they probably understood better what true worship was. Most cultures practiced some form of worship to their god(s). It was probably well known then that worship was not just singing. But we have lost that in the "fight" over whose music is the best or most appropriate for "worship."
It's all about the WORD of God...receiving the Word by hearing, responding in your heart to the Holy Spirit's urging, and doing outwardly what God calls you to do. The music is just icing on the cake. And everyone knows if you have a steady diet of icing, you'll get fat, tired, useless and unhealthy. Don't count on the music to be the only thing that draws us to the Lord or "feeds" our spirit...count on His WORD.
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your LAW.
Give me understanding, and I will keep your LAW and obey it with all my heart.
I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn Your righteous LAWS.
I lift up my hands to Your COMMANDS which I love, and I meditate on your DECREES.
Your DECREES are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.
Let me understand the TEACHING OF YOUR PRECEPTS, then I will meditate on Your wonders.
I rejoice in following your STATUTES as one rejoices in great riches.
I have considered my ways and have turned my steps to you STATUTES.
I will hasten and not delay to obey your COMMANDS.
May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in Your WORD.
If your LAW had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
Accept O LORD the willing praise of my mouth, and teach me your LAWS.
May my lips overflow with praise, for You teach me your DECREES.
May my tongue sing your WORD, for all Your COMMANDMENTS are righteous.
Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for Your LAWS are not obeyed.
I open my mouth and pant, longing for your COMMANDMENTS.
My flesh trembles in fear of You; I stand in awe of your LAWS.
Seven times a day I praise You for Your righteous LAWS.
Thy WORD is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
I have hidden your WORD in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Your STATUTES are my heritage forever; they are the joy of my heart.
My heart is set on keeping your DECREES to the very end.
I will always obey your LAWS for ever and ever.
"If you love Me, keep my COMMANDMENTS"
(Excerpts from Psalm 119, John 14:15)
Welcome to my blog...Why "gidget"? Well...my husband tried to teach me how to surf before we were married. I was lousy at it, but he called me his "gidget" and the name stuck.
Why "Treasure Trove"? I love sharing about my sweet little "treasures"...and God has blessed me beyond measure....and no, I didn't mean that to rhyme.
I was reading 
They have a good message, but really the end result is our children had public speaking/drama & performance opportunity, and we were able to have a part in the production, but the real growth or "outreach" wasn't there. AND after it's all done, we are behind in school and frustrated trying to catch up when we should be having a break like the rest of the world. 
) Less than 30 minutes later, 15 totally different kids. 
But It's not my purpose to bash Contemporary music. One thing I recall hearing from a great preacher (
