Tunesday Tuesday.

We sang this song on the first full day together last week. Though I've heard it before, there's nothing like singing, "Build your kingdom here [...] Set your church on fire" amongst 100+ believers dedicating the next years of their life to kingdom work of God.

Also, this video is just SO MUCH FUN!! Enjoy :)

The Good Shepherd

I came across the 23rd Psalm again today. I've heard this many times over the years and even helped little 1st graders memorize it during Awanas. But when I really look at the lines of the poem I'm just so captivated by the contentment that David found in God. I remember on the eve of my 24th birthday this past year, I was just reflecting on how good God had been over the past 23 years. While we have so many names for Him, sometimes I feel like Shepherd is really all want to use. He protects us, guides us, loves us, tends to us, cares for us, among so many other. 

The Shepherd. There is so much imagery in the Bible of a shepherd and his flock. I love the parable Jesus tells in Luke 15, when the shepherd has 100 sheep and loses 1; he leaves his 99 to search for just 1. Once he find it, there is great joy and rejoicing.

In John 10, Jesus tells the people that, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep." 

One of my favorite authors, Margaret Feinberg wrote this really great book, Scouting the Divine, and in the first part of the book she recalls time she spent with a modern day shepherd. She talks about the in and outs of caring for them, the work that goes into a flock, and yet that's what Jesus does for us daily. Margaret also visits a beekeeper, a vineyard, and a farmer on this journey of hers. Like I said -- it's a good book!

Anyway, I just want to close with Psalm 23. An old Psalm that many of us have heard and leave it as a reminder of what God has done for us (with my own emphasis added.)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley 

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, 

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Tunesday Tuesday.

I absolutely love this song! It's so catchy, upbeat and reminds me of 'Brave' by Sara Bareilles.

I also find it very fitting for the new year, a fresh start. The chorus is, "I'm an empty page, I'm an open book // write Your story on my heart, come on and make Your mark."

Her new CD comes out April 22 and I'm sure it will be as great as her others. Oh! And this song is called "Write Your Story" :)

Welcome, 2014!

2014, what a pleasant sight you are! So much to be accomplished in this year, but I am not going to rush any minute because I know that time is going to fly by, just like it did in 2013. I always love end of the year reflection posts because they allow you to look back at where you have come from 365 days ago. To see where God has grown you (hopefully).  If you told me this time last year that I would be leaving my job in 2 days and leaving the country in 3 months, I think you would have had to pick my jaw up off the floor. It just was not what I had planned. BUT, when we submit to what God has in store for us, far greater things happen and the rest is history, or, the future rather....

So, I now reveal to you the 5 themes God was showing me in 2013:

1. We serve the God of restoration.  Ezekiel 37 has a great story of God restoring Israel.  He is the God who is all about restoring his people.

2. Wait it out; God hears you. There is so much Scripture about God listening to us:
-Psalm 40:1 - I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry
-Jeremiah 29:12 - Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.
-2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you.
-Isaiah 55:8-9 - For my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

What I love about these are two things: 1) It requires action on our part, to pray and have faith, and 2) that God knows what he's doing, it's just in HIS time. [I have to laugh as I read this original note because it was from late January 2013. I was waiting for something, but had no idea what. Only a few months more and God would reveal it in a HUGE way.]

3. Clean out the bitterness. This should be obvious for so many of us, but it is not always easy. Bitterness left too long leads to anger.  Forgiveness and reconciliation are great tools to keep from becoming bitter and I believe should be used regularly in the life of a Christian.

4. Crush the idols. I know this too is an obvious one because it is one of the 10 commandments, but there is a song I love by Jimmy Needham called "Clear the Stage". One of the lyrics is "anything I put before my God is an idol, anything I want with all my heart is an idol, and anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol, anything I give all my love is an idol." Those are a lot of competitors, and remember, we serve a jealous God.

5. God is faithful. I read a lot of the Old Testament this year, and Israel had a lot of issues, much like America today. But God was so good to them! He never turned back on his promises to them, when he had every reason to! When the Israelites had finally reached the promised land after so many years,  Joshua 21:45 says "Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." I just love that verse. Generations had died since they set out on this journey, God could have changed plans because of their parents' disobedience, they may have never known. But God is faithful.  Yesterday, today, and forever.

So that's it, 2013's lessons. I can't wait for this year; to see what God does in my friends' lives and to see what he does in Buenos Aires.