http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVTeIMursb8
I do not even know how many times this song has been played at my house the last few weeks. (of course, it helps that the music video is borderline creepy the first few times you watch it (come on, yes? and that part where there is three of him?) although it just gets funny after that) I just love. this. song. it is catchy, and it has an extremely important and encouraging message that I think applies to, well, everyone.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~1 Corinthians 10:31
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. ~Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ~Colossians 3:23-24
it also reminds me of what Emily at Chatting at the Sky has been talking about recently. whatever you do, it all matters. whatever you do, it is art. whatever you do, do it for the LORD. WHATEVER!! when you are feeling down about whatever it is that you do; whether you are a SAHM, or a doctor in the emergency room, or a student, who someone who works at Dollarama - it all matters when you do it to the glory of God! how does this work, you may say? does God really care about what I do? is it even worth it? the answer is YES! so give it your all, God gave all for you, shouldn't we give him our all in all things too? on top of that, when we believe that we are doing doesn't matter, we are not giving God the chance to work through us (not that He can't, because He can (and He will sometimes) but that is a different post for a different day ;)) in that situation. Satan really truly wants us to believe that what we do matters little or not at all. please tell me if you know where in the Bible it says that little things don't count?
in conclusion; be encouraged. there is nothing you can do (except for sin) that does not bring God glory when you do it. you were created for it! strive for excellence! it matters! you are working for God, and not for another man.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)
~em
Tuesday, 29 October 2013
Saturday, 26 October 2013
connections
the more I learn, the more I see that everything is seriously connected.
right now, I am really dealing with contentment. (favourite blogs writing about contentment for 31 Days in Oct: Sarah Writes and Cassidy Robinson :)) don't we all say to ourselves - 'I'll be content when _______' (fill in the blank for yourself), but I know for a fact that when I get there I will then be saying 'I'll be content when ______' about the next step in my life, and this will keep going until I die unless somewhere along the line I learn to be content right where I am. so why not start now?
I am seeing that the key to being content is 3ish things, all of which are connected.
God's presence. His character. who He is. dwelling on this y'all. Our God is the God of love, He is just, He is sovereign, He is good, He is best, besides a million other things that I don't have the brainpower or time to list this morning. when we think, really think, when we soak in who our AMAZING God is - how are we not content? He loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross so that we could have life??? *mindblown* our God truly is good, which leads me to my next point:
His promises. (favourite blog about His glorious goodness this Oct: With Love, From Here). there are many, many promises in the Bible (just googled it quickly and results varied from 1500-3000). when we know who our God is, and that He will not let us down, His promises have a lot of worth. we can hope in them, trust in them, and we can be content.
gratitude. (Ann Voskamp's blog A Holy Experience has truly spoken God's words to me during hard times in my life) I truly believe this is key to contentment. discontent stems from thanklessness. when we are not thankful for what we have, where and who we are, then what we don't have looks better than what we do have, and this is discontent. when we give thanks for all things, we are accepting God's plan for our lives. we are showing Him that we truly believe that He does not make mistakes and that He really does know best. when we neglect to give thanks we are telling God that we know better than Him what we need right now. and ummm, I'm sorry, but we don't. contentment in each moment stems from gratitude in each moment. I could go on and on about giving thanks but considering this is just supposed to be an overview of some of the things that I feel are related to contentment I will save all that for another post ;).
other things related to contentment:
hope. (Sweetwater blog) sometimes I have trouble with this one because I feel like when I'm hoping for something, that makes me less content with where I am/what I have. but I think that when that happens to me, I am not hoping in the true sense of the word. hope should encourage us that God is good and what He has for us is good. we can hope for specific things and that is not wrong, but we can take it in the wrong direction and become discontent when we feel that God is not moving fast enough.
yearning and desire. right now one of my prayers is that the LORD would be my first desire. admission, often, He is not. :( and this makes me sad.
trust. in order for any of this to be of any worth to me I need to trust in God's character, His promises, hope etc.
sometimes it is necessary for us to 'fake it til we make it': go through the motions even when we don't feel like it, and the feeling will follow along. maybe not for a long time; but it will. I promise. if we waited for the right feeling to be content/joyful/thankful/hopeful, it would never happen - at least not really and not for the long term. we need to choose contentment.
I don't want to make any promises about what I'm going to post on next, but right now I have this idea of maybe going a little deeper into each of those sections that I've mentioned above. we'll see if it lasts long enough to actually make the posts ;)
May the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24-26)
love em
right now, I am really dealing with contentment. (favourite blogs writing about contentment for 31 Days in Oct: Sarah Writes and Cassidy Robinson :)) don't we all say to ourselves - 'I'll be content when _______' (fill in the blank for yourself), but I know for a fact that when I get there I will then be saying 'I'll be content when ______' about the next step in my life, and this will keep going until I die unless somewhere along the line I learn to be content right where I am. so why not start now?
I am seeing that the key to being content is 3ish things, all of which are connected.
God's presence. His character. who He is. dwelling on this y'all. Our God is the God of love, He is just, He is sovereign, He is good, He is best, besides a million other things that I don't have the brainpower or time to list this morning. when we think, really think, when we soak in who our AMAZING God is - how are we not content? He loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die on the cross so that we could have life??? *mindblown* our God truly is good, which leads me to my next point:
His promises. (favourite blog about His glorious goodness this Oct: With Love, From Here). there are many, many promises in the Bible (just googled it quickly and results varied from 1500-3000). when we know who our God is, and that He will not let us down, His promises have a lot of worth. we can hope in them, trust in them, and we can be content.
gratitude. (Ann Voskamp's blog A Holy Experience has truly spoken God's words to me during hard times in my life) I truly believe this is key to contentment. discontent stems from thanklessness. when we are not thankful for what we have, where and who we are, then what we don't have looks better than what we do have, and this is discontent. when we give thanks for all things, we are accepting God's plan for our lives. we are showing Him that we truly believe that He does not make mistakes and that He really does know best. when we neglect to give thanks we are telling God that we know better than Him what we need right now. and ummm, I'm sorry, but we don't. contentment in each moment stems from gratitude in each moment. I could go on and on about giving thanks but considering this is just supposed to be an overview of some of the things that I feel are related to contentment I will save all that for another post ;).
other things related to contentment:
hope. (Sweetwater blog) sometimes I have trouble with this one because I feel like when I'm hoping for something, that makes me less content with where I am/what I have. but I think that when that happens to me, I am not hoping in the true sense of the word. hope should encourage us that God is good and what He has for us is good. we can hope for specific things and that is not wrong, but we can take it in the wrong direction and become discontent when we feel that God is not moving fast enough.
yearning and desire. right now one of my prayers is that the LORD would be my first desire. admission, often, He is not. :( and this makes me sad.
trust. in order for any of this to be of any worth to me I need to trust in God's character, His promises, hope etc.
sometimes it is necessary for us to 'fake it til we make it': go through the motions even when we don't feel like it, and the feeling will follow along. maybe not for a long time; but it will. I promise. if we waited for the right feeling to be content/joyful/thankful/hopeful, it would never happen - at least not really and not for the long term. we need to choose contentment.
I don't want to make any promises about what I'm going to post on next, but right now I have this idea of maybe going a little deeper into each of those sections that I've mentioned above. we'll see if it lasts long enough to actually make the posts ;)
May the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you; the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24-26)
love em
Sunday, 20 October 2013
welcome :)
welcome to my little space :) here I hope to share the ponderings of my heart. I pray that God may use this space as a place where He will be glorified and honoured. some things that I anticipate sharing about are:
desiring the LORD, contentment (this is a biggie for me right now!!), waiting on the LORD, living in each moment (after all, that's all we ever have, right?), giving thanks, and godly womanhood among others :)
please feel free to follow along, I'd love to have you on my journey. I really really love getting comments, fyi ;)
may God bless you richly!
~em
desiring the LORD, contentment (this is a biggie for me right now!!), waiting on the LORD, living in each moment (after all, that's all we ever have, right?), giving thanks, and godly womanhood among others :)
please feel free to follow along, I'd love to have you on my journey. I really really love getting comments, fyi ;)
may God bless you richly!
~em
Thursday, 12 September 2013
Psalm 25
The last week and a half or so, this Psalm has been one of my favourites. In it there are a lot of cries out to God and a few promises. I stumbled upon it one day and I think Cassidy and I agreed to memorize it. Care to join us?
Psalm 25
(bold added by me)
In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord, is in you.
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord, is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
from all their troubles!
Thursday, 22 August 2013
To-Do Lists and What to Do
Still in the middle of a super busy week where we are trying to pack for a vacation, organize for school, clean house, and can food (mostly 3 bushels of peaches but there is more too); I can say without a doubt that there is lots to do! I am a list-maker, that is my preferred way of working. The lists do. not. end.
But in the middle of all this busyness, there's something else you gotta remember, too. Life is short, and relationship is what counts. It's sort of like that Bible passage on love:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3)
"If I finish everything on my to-do list, but have not been purposeful about spending time with people, I fail. If I always have my school done, and my house is immaculately clean, and supper is always on time, but I have not been intentional about relationships, I had my priorities skewed."
On one of those days where the baby is cranky and clingy and just wants to be carried around all day, which makes it at least twice as hard to do many tasks; remember the baby won't be a baby for a lot longer now and soon enough won't even want to be carried at all... so treasure this time while you have it. Instead of mopping the floors right away (after all, they've made it this long without being mopped - they can take another week, can't they? ;)), play a game with the kids.
It's important to work; to clean, to be good stewards of the things God has given us in this life. I am not at all telling you to be lazy; to not work or just leave the work. There is lots of work to be done, and we are the ones to do it. What I am saying is that we need to get our priorities straight! We complain that there is not enough time to get all our daily tasks done, let alone spend some time reading to the kids - but how long do you spend on the computer (or such devices) each day? (etc etc) There is always enough time, what there is enough time for depends on you.
There will always be work to do, but children will not always be little and people will not be around forever and if the world ended tomorrow would you wish you had cleaned the bathroom more or spent more time with the wee ones (& big people) in your life?
Today:... pause for 5 minutes, before you fold that basket of laundry, and play a game with the kids... and then have them join you with the laundry and have a folding game!
Life is sweet, don't miss it!
God bless y'all today!!
Em
(This post was partially inspired by this.)
But in the middle of all this busyness, there's something else you gotta remember, too. Life is short, and relationship is what counts. It's sort of like that Bible passage on love:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3)
"If I finish everything on my to-do list, but have not been purposeful about spending time with people, I fail. If I always have my school done, and my house is immaculately clean, and supper is always on time, but I have not been intentional about relationships, I had my priorities skewed."
On one of those days where the baby is cranky and clingy and just wants to be carried around all day, which makes it at least twice as hard to do many tasks; remember the baby won't be a baby for a lot longer now and soon enough won't even want to be carried at all... so treasure this time while you have it. Instead of mopping the floors right away (after all, they've made it this long without being mopped - they can take another week, can't they? ;)), play a game with the kids.
It's important to work; to clean, to be good stewards of the things God has given us in this life. I am not at all telling you to be lazy; to not work or just leave the work. There is lots of work to be done, and we are the ones to do it. What I am saying is that we need to get our priorities straight! We complain that there is not enough time to get all our daily tasks done, let alone spend some time reading to the kids - but how long do you spend on the computer (or such devices) each day? (etc etc) There is always enough time, what there is enough time for depends on you.
There will always be work to do, but children will not always be little and people will not be around forever and if the world ended tomorrow would you wish you had cleaned the bathroom more or spent more time with the wee ones (& big people) in your life?
Today:... pause for 5 minutes, before you fold that basket of laundry, and play a game with the kids... and then have them join you with the laundry and have a folding game!
Life is sweet, don't miss it!
God bless y'all today!!
Em
(This post was partially inspired by this.)
Monday, 19 August 2013
Morning Prayer
Bless this day, LORD. Help me to do what You will. Give me strength and patience and endurance. Open my eyes to the many many blessings that surround me; may I be a blessing to others, too. Let me feel your presence close today, God. All we ever have is now; help me to ever be present in this moment. LORD, you are awe-inspiring, and I praise you! Amen!
take a moment this morning, before you jump into the endless rushing, pause, be still, and talk to God. let His presence surround you, feel it.
blessings on your day!! :)
take a moment this morning, before you jump into the endless rushing, pause, be still, and talk to God. let His presence surround you, feel it.
blessings on your day!! :)
Videos in Feedburner
Just a note to say that when posts have videos (as a lot of them seem to do!), they don't show up in feedburner, you have to actually go to the blog. Having only realized that now, I will try to include a link to the video in the post; but you may want to just go directly to the blog post.
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