Love Letter

Abba Father God,

I love You!  I thank You for being my Abba!  I thank You for wanting me in Your family!  I thank You for sending Jesus to make sure I could be a part of Your family!  I thank You for Your Holy Spirit who woos me and draws me to Jesus, so I would see how lovely and how loving He is...how You are!  

Jesus, thank You for wanting me as Your bride.  Thank You for being the Lover of my Soul!  When my husband was courting me, he did wonderful things to draw me to himself, but no one, not even him, has wooed me like You did!  Like You still do.  Even though I have come to You and received Your love, Jesus, You still woo me.  You still draw me to yourself...You have never stopped and You never will.  There are some things my husband has stopped doing, or does not do as much, since I accepted him by marrying him, but You have never stopped drawing me to Yourself.  I am sure that is at least due in part to the fact that I do not love perfectly~I sometimes neglect You, or even look at "others" from time to time, so You do something to capture my attention anew.  I suspect, however, that it has a whole lot more to do with who You are!  You do love perfectly!  You never leave me, neglect me, or forget about me.  You are never indifferent, apathetic, or cold.  Your eyes never wander, and Your feet never stray from my side.  Your attentions toward me are always faithful, constant, loving, tender, sweet, intentional, genuinely unselfish, and insistent.  You know exactly what I need.  You know how to provide for me, to care for me, to console me, to guide me.  You are always looking out for me, and You always put me first, above Yourself.  You never force Yourself on me, but You will pursue and persuade.  You will draw me, and instill within me a desire for You.

Holy Spirit, You always speak to me on behalf of Jesus, commending Him to me, pointing out His excellence and praiseworthiness~like a best friend or "wing man" would.  You always remind me of the myriad of loving things Jesus has said and done for me.  You never fail to speak of His promises of love, assuring me of His affections toward me.  

I am so sorry I am not as faithful and steadfast as You are, Lord.  You deserve so much better.  I thank You, though, that You love me enough for the both of us.  You make up the lack in me.  I don't want to become complacent or lukewarm, though.  Please continue to fan into flame my passion and desire for You.  Please continue to stir up hunger within me.  Please continue to cause me to thirst for You, Lord.  Please continue to speak tenderly to me, to draw me in with Your words of love, Your words of life, for You are the life, Jesus!  I thank You for never giving up on me, Lord.  I thank You for Your dedication and devotion to me.  I thank You for loving me eagerly and earnestly.  I thank You for Your passionate and persevering pursuit of me, and for Your provision and protection.  I praise You and thank You for your kindness and caring.

I thank You for everything You are, for everything You do, and for everything You have given, in Jesus' Name,  Amen!     

Stumped

I know it has been a while but, right now, "I got nuthin'!"

Merry Christmas to All

I know I have not written in quite some time...close to a month...but I cannot blame it all on being busy with family, the Nutcracker, etc.  At least some of it (probably the larger portion) has to be attributed to lack of discipline coupled with my tendency to procrastinate.  (By the way, if I may just say a little something about the Nutcracker, I had a blast!!  It was so much fun!  I hope I get to do it again next year!)  In any case, I wanted to write something in celebration of Christmas and the gift of love God gave us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ.  I wrote a poem earlier this month, but I also want to include two songs (which I did not at all write) which I love and find particularly meaningful (and not just because one of them is actually a Christmas carol) because, like my poem, they don't just proclaim Christ's birth, they look ahead (implicitly or explicitly), to the fulfillment of what He was sent to do...which was to die (a horrible, undeserved death on a criminal's cross) for us so we don't have to pay the penalty for our sin.  

"O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM"  (written in 1868 by Bishop Phillips Brooks)

O little town of Bethlehem,

How still we see thee lie!

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by.

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting Light;

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary,

And gathered all above,

While mortals sleep, the angels keep

Their watch of wondering love.

O morning stars together,

Proclaim the holy birth,

And praises sing to God the King,

And peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently,

The wondrous gift is given;

So God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of His heaven.

No ear may hear His coming,

But in this world of sin

Where meek souls will receive Him still,

The dear Christ enters in.

O holy child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us, we pray!

Cast out our sin and enter in,

Be born in us today.

We hear the Christmas angels.

The great glad tidings tell;

O come to us, abide with us,

Our Lord Emmanuel!

"LORD OF THE DANCE"  (by Sidney Carter)

I danced in the morning

When the world was begun,

And I danced in the moon

And the stars and the sun,

And I came down from heaven

And I danced on the earth

At Bethlehem

I had My birth.

(chorus) Dance, then, wherever you may be,

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He,

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,

And I'll lead you all in the dance, said He

I danced for the scribe

And the pharisee

But they would not dance

And they wouldn't follow Me.

I danced for the fishermen, 

For James and John~

They came with Me

And the dance went on.

(chorus)

I danced on the Sabbath

And I cured the lame;

The holy people 

Said it was a shame.

They whipped and they stripped

And they hung Me on high

And they left Me there

On a cross to die.

(chorus)

I danced on a Friday

When the sky turned black~

It's hard to dance 

With the devil on your back.

They buried My body

And they thought I'd gone,

But I am the Dance

And I still go on.

Dance, then, wherever you may be,

I am the Lord of the Dance, said He,

And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be,

And I'll lead you all in the dance, said He.

ODE TO A BABY (written by me on 12/02/2008.  I am not sure of the title.  Suggestions?)

Real lasting joy and

the peace we all crave

from cradle to grave

comes not through the things

of this earth.

It comes by faith in

a promise of love

from the Father above,

through a babe born of

humble birth.

This heaven-sent gift~

the Majestic One,

Jesus, Divine Son,

came to a waiting

world below.

Separated from

God by our sin and 

the evil within

we were lost, without

hope, and so

it pleased God to send

His heavenly child;

this babe, meek and mild,

who grew to a man

full of grace.

Jesus, He who saves,

did the work of God

while on earth He trod...

gave all for the whole

human race.

By death on the cross

His work was complete.

What looked like defeat

was not, it was true

victory!

His birth, life, and death

our future secured,

by faith in the Lord,

restoration for

you and me!

       

Exaltation

I bless You

and praise You,

I worship and adore You;

I love and

exalt You,

I am humbled before You.

You are good,

You are God...

there is no one who compares

to Your love

and mercy,

and the beauty I find there.

In Your face,

in Your voice,

and Your sheltering embrace

I am lost.

I am found

in the presence of Your grace.

You are God,

You alone,

and You love someone like me...

I'm in awe,

and undone,

by this blessed mystery!

Mighty God,

gentle Lord,

how can I refuse to give

all my love

and praise?  It's 

by Your gracious hand I live.

Thanksgiving

Psalm 106:1~

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.”

I thank You, Father God, for Your constant and abiding presence.  I know You are always with me, whether I feel You or not~because that is a promise You have made to me, and You always keep Your word.  I thank You that You are always faithful, even when I am not.  Thank You for loving me, especially when I am so unlovable.  Thank You for Your grace, which I do not deserve, but always have whenever I need it.  Thank You for Your wisdom, which is always available to me, however often I ignore it.  I thank You for Your forgiveness, which You never withhold, no matter how many times a day I must ask for it. 

My God and Father, I thank You for the kindness You never fail to show me...especially when I neglect to show that same kindness to others.  I thank You that You always have time for me, although I do not take enough time to be with You.  Thank You for being my source of true comfort, however frequently I seek it elsewhere.  Thank You for being my defender, I need no longer defend myself.  Thank You for being an ever-present help in time of trouble, though I often forget to call on You.  I thank You for working everything out for my good, even though I may complain how bad things are.  Thank You that Your mercies are new every morning, though I dwell too often on past mistakes.  I thank You for the freedom I have in You, although I sometimes live as though I were still in chains.    

Almighty God and Father, I thank You for receiving my praise and worship, inadequate and insufficient though it may be.  Thank You for Your beauty and creativity, however infrequently I notice it or show appreciation for it.  Thank You for always answering my prayers, even when I do not recognize Your answers or when I complain that they were not what I wanted.  I thank You for Your perfect will, however often I stubbornly insist on my own.  Thank You for the gifts and abilities You have generously given me, in spite of how often I have wasted them or wished for others.  I thank You for being God of my life, however often I attempt to take control.  Thank You for being You.                  

Acrostics

Frustration (11/20/2008)

FEELING ANGRY, AND

REALLY

UPSET, EVEN

STRESSED, BY

THOSE WHO DAILY

REFUSE TO LISTEN

AND CHOOSE

TO DISOBEY

INSTEAD

OF DOING WHAT

NEEDS TO BE DONE STRAIGHT AWAY

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[You Are My] Saving Grace (07/11/2007)

You are my saving grace

SINNER                         GOD

ABJECT                         REDEEMED

VICTIM                         ACCEPTED

INSUFFICIENT           CLAIMED

NEEDY                          ENCOURAGED

GRIEVING

You are my saving grace

SELFISH                        GRACIOUSLY

ANGRY                           RESTORED

VICTIMIZER                 ADOPTED

INSECURE                     CLEANSED

NEGATIVE                    EQUIPPED

GODLESS

You are my saving grace, God! 

Hallelujah!

Prayer Requests

I have two prayer requests, if you all would be so kind.  The first is for Nathan, Sherry, and Brooklyn.  I cannot give any details, but I would really appreciate your prayers for them.  Please pray as Holy Spirit leads, and I think it would also be good to pray against the enemy's plans for them.

The second request is for me.  I had my first rehearsal for Nutcracker yesterday.  I realize it was my first rehearsal (only an hour long), and the other "adult party guests" have had at least two, if not three rehearsals already, but I really struggled with the dances.  There are two I have to learn, and I have never been able to do group dances, except the hora (and I don't even remember how to do that now).  The choreographer said I did a great job, but I think she was just being kind.  I know I have to be careful here, because I am something of a perfectionist, and I can be very hard on myself, but I truly felt lost.  I think I was paired with the guy who has been having a hard time getting the dances, and he is better than me.  I do not want to let anyone down.  I do not especially like the idea of embarrassing myself, either, but I can deal with that better than letting other people down.

I would be very grateful for your prayer support.  Thanks so much everyone.