The Lord has shown me something very basic but very amazing in my walk with Him, and I wanted to share it with whoever reads this. The past yr has been a tough one - renovations, moving, etc. I will not bore you w/all the details. And the move has gone well. But I am seeing some very strong character issues in all my girls - ones that are discouraging to me as a parent, as a christian. Ones that wear me out to the utmost, where I just want to check out...And today was very bad, I just got to the point of tears, utter discouragement. Do you know that place??? I called dh and asked him to pray; he spoke w/the oldest. But I needed Jesus. So I placed all the girls in separate places, put on praise music and swept and mopped the floor. And in that time, the Lord renewed my strength, lifted me up out of the pit, but did much more than that. Not only did he renew my strength for the very minute, to keep going, encouraging me in my day. But He showed me how to choose joy in the midst of trials, to go on only because of HIM. Here are the songs I heard:

Trading My Sorrows

I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

Chorus:
And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

Hallelujah (Your Love is Amazing)

Your love is amazing, steady and unchanging
Your love is a mountain, firm beneath my feet
Your love is a mystery, how You gently lift me
When I am surrounded, Your love carries me

Chorus
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Your love makes me sing
Hallelujah, Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Your love makes me sing

v2
Your love is surprising, I can feel it rising
All the joy that's growing deep inside of me
Every time I see You, all Your goodness shines through
And I can feel this God song, rising up in me

Bridge
Yes, You make me sing
Lord, You make me sing, sing, sing
How You make me sing

2000 Vineyard Songs (UK / Eire)
Words and Music by Brenton Brown and Brian Doerksen

I am including the words because they are instrumental in helping me deal w/the frustration, fatigue, almost despair that I felt. That may sound a bit over dramatic, but I was worn down, and the Lord lifted me up. These words struck me:

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

 

This was very, very real and concrete to me - so many times I look at the circumstances around me, and choose to be discouraged. But today, He helped me to overcome my feelings, and lean totally on Him. And we all need this - because all of us will go thru despair, discouragement, frustrations, places where we want to escape, where we feel like we just cannot go on with what is going on in our lives. Just today on the hs forum I belong to, and fellow forum member shared that she lost her baby. And all around us is death, sorrow, despair, feeling like we cannot continue. And Jesus carries us in all of these things, so that we can walk with Him, living the abundant life He came to give us.