Redeemed

I need the Lord--every day, every hour. There is not a moment I could live on my own, but even if I could, I wouldn't want to, because He is everything to me.

My hope is in God, and I know that I will not be shaken. My trust is in Him, and I will never be disappointed. I will not lack, because He satisfies. I will never be alone, because He does not abandon.

There is no good in me. I have not just sinned against Him a few times, but I cannot even number my transgressions. They are greater in number than the stars in the sky. Sin seems to be embedded in me. I cannot escape it.

Why should God love me, when I have so rebelled against His commands? Why would He have mercy on me? I look at myself and all I have done. And He has given grace?

Instead of giving me what I deserve, His righteous justice and wrath--He gave His only Son what He did not deserve. He was completely sinless, yet nailed to a cross. God loved Him, yet forsook Him. Jesus poured out His blood for me, He gave up His life. And all so that the sin I was chained to would lose its power, that I might be brought from death to life and reconciled to God. He was stronger than the grave, rising victorious. He ransomed me by grace. He gave me a new heart and a new identity. I belong to a new Master. I am adopted into His family, now a child of God.

I am blessed beyond words...that He chose me to be His. I am not needed, but wanted. Loved, forgiven, redeemed.

He Can Do Everything

There are many plans in a man's heart,

Nevertheless the LORD's counsel--that will stand.

Proverbs 19:21

"I know that You can do everything,

And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You."

Job 42:2

I know that whatever God does,

It shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it,

And nothing taken from it,

God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:14

Secretive, Discouraging, Sweet, Terrifying, & Hilarious

Secretive: when you go have ice cream after church softball on Monday, just like you always do. But you don't tell anyone that when you were in town with a friend early that day, you had ice cream then, too.

Discouraging: the price of airline tickets to Hawaii.

Sweet: when your mom is excited the whole day because she can hardly wait for the date your dad is taking her on in the evening.

Terrifying: it's late and you're lying in bed editing pictures on your laptop. You feel something on your arm, so you look down...only to find the biggest daddy long-legs spider you've ever laid eyes on walking up your arm. You somehow brush it off, grab it with a tissue, and bring it downstairs alive to show your mom and sister (the one who absolutely despises spiders). They are also disturbed, and you end this spider's life. You feel a sense of accomplishment, yet at the same time wonder if you'll be able to sleep tonight.

Hilarious: playing hide-and-seek while babysitting. The six year old girl comes into the room you're hiding in and declares, "If you're in this room, say, 'Ooga booga!'"

When My Days Are Really His

When I see each day as my own, my focus is how I can please myself in it. I become wrapped up in my own agenda, and begin to despise anything that conflicts with it.

But when I look at each day as belonging to the Lord, my eyes are no longer on myself. I am a steward of this beautiful gift of time, and I want to be faithful for the One who has given me life. I become wrapped up in His plans and am excited to see what He has for me. I just want to honor Him because He is worthy. And I will eagerly receive both joys and trials because I know who is in control and that He is working all things together for my good and His glory.

Every Minute

Every minute I live is a gracious gift from God. And every minute I live matters. I cannot waste my life, not even a moment. Time is precious and quick. My life is fleeting.

My days are already numbered, decided by the One who created me before I had lived even one of them. Do I not think He has a purpose for every day of my life? And how can I, redeemed by His own Son's death on a cross, waste one of them?

I don't know how long my life will last, whether there are fifty years ahead of me or five days. But I don't really want to know. My soul is secure in His hands. And whatever length of life I have left on earth, by His grace, I will live it for Him.

Summer Pictures

What I'm Praying Today...

That I would desire what the Lord wants for me more than what I want.
That I would love Him more than anything.
That I would trust in His flawless plans and know without a doubt that they are the best.
That I would fear God and worship Him alone.
That all my life would honor Him and please Him.
That I would be content in Him, resting joyfully in His goodness.
That my thoughts would be fixed on Christ and the gospel.