God is so good.

Oh Lord, how it has been my prayer to let my soul awake and sing of you in all my encounters. How I have struggled for years upon hearing the truth and been ashamed of my not acting and letting go of fear.

Crown Him the Lord of love, behold His hands and side
Rich wounds yet visible above in beauty glorified
No angel in the sky can fully bear that sight
But downward bends his wondering eye at mysteries so bright

Lord this love you display for me is so magnificent. Who could not sing of a God who died for the wretched lost? I don’t deserve it, but you let go of sheer perfection to take on the dirt of sin.

Crown Him the Lord of Light who triumphed o’er the grave
Who rose victorious in the strife for those He came to save
His glories now we sing, who died and rose on High
Who died eternal life to bring, and live that death may die

Live that death may die. You took on the burden that I was supposed to take and rose to conquer that very same death. I was condemned to die, and you freed me from sin’s captivity. Oh Lord, this is your gospel and I praise you that today I was able to win over yet another thing which was the fear of man that held me captive. That fear that has withheld me from spreading and furthering your kingdom. Yes, crown the rightful King with many crowns for he truly is the King of all!

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above
Crown Him the King to who is giv’n the wondrous name of Love
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns for He is King of all!

Thanks to my women’s ministry coordinator, I recently found the below post: http://www.therebelution.com/blog/2006/02/three-teens-define-a-real-woman/

Upon reading it, I was blown away. In particular by the above quote about self-pity and voicing complaints. You know when God hits you on the head with the sharp realization of how you’ve been sinning? It definitely happened… and just in case I didn’t get this truth the first time around, God spoke through Pastor Danny using James 4 1-11 to remind me how selfish I truly am. The sin that causes drama and frustrations has led me to become a complaining spirit, and it’s time that it stopped.

What does it mean to wallow in self-pity? It means that I think my life sucks so much, and that I deserve so much more than I have right now. It shows discontentment with who I am or what my situation is, and demonstrates a lack of faith in the creator who can conquer death.

I was reading Psalm 91 recently and was reminded of just how powerful God is. There is a reference in the psalm to abiding in the shadow of the Almighty. Just think about it. The shadow of the Almighty can protect us from the looming darkness that is sin. In a sense, I can hide in a shadow and the utter destruction and darkness of sin can’t find me. Yay for winning at hide and go seek.

If this is who God is, who am I to wallow in self-pity. Who am I to say that the gifts and blessings I’ve been given (such as the shadow of the Almighty) is not good enough. Don’t wallow in self pity, but radiate with cheerfulness and joy. Yes, I am resolved to do that.

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

We are His portion and He is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about the way….

That He loves us, oh how He loves us.

Have you ever stopped to consider the beauty of this love? Ever stopped in your day to wait and consider the glory of such a mercy and grace, a grace that you’re forever sinking in? God, does love us. The truth is simple, yet powerful enough to change the most depraved of lives. Yes, oh how He loves us.

I was talking to a friend today who pointed out this truth in my life. In seeking to understand what it means to be confident in Christ, I need to realize that Satan’s whispers are not true, and that I need to be wholly reliant on God’s wonderful creation in me.

Seeing my parents interact on another birthday is just absolutely awesome. You know those cute little old couples that you see who are still very much in love with each other after decades of marriage? My parents are basically that, except with more black than white hair. Here’s a picture of them:

And a family picture:

Now for a little reflection: my dad talks about heaven a lot. He’s very real about the future and just how death is really a part of life. As I was sitting in my room after he went to church prayer meeting tonight, I thought about a world without my daddy. Even though I’m supposed to rejoice that he’s finally with God, I couldn’t help but start tearing. My dad sacrifices and takes care of this family to the point of exhaustion. On top of that, he cares about the church like none other. I hope that a couple decades down the line, I’ll be able to also be fighting the battle with the same exponentially growing passion that my dad has.

I really love my daddy, and I’m so glad that he’s still here on this earth. I want to end this post with a quote from scripture which I went over recently. I thought of my dad immediately after reading it.

“If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your profess and joy in the faith, so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.” (Philippians 1: 22-26) .

The above is a link to Mariah Carey’s performance of her 90′s hit “Emotions” in Tokyo. I stumbled upon the song recently and was reminded oh so suddenly of how awesome the 90s were. I love Mariah’s simple, conservative outfit and crazy hair and  just how comfortable she is playing around on stage. In the current world of over-sexed and not so talented singers, I really do appreciate her ability to sing and just chill on the stage. It’s like she’s saying “Yes, I’m going to just sing the song and hit my crazy high notes”. I encourage anyone to just listen to the song and marvel at her crazy high notes at the end of the song. She is definitely talented.

I personally love it when artists sing live. It really does demonstrate what they can do. You can change up the song and play with the potential within a melody crafted by another. You see their musicality and passion for what they are singing. In this case, a groovy melody that makes even the casual listener want to bop their head. (Admit it, you definitely had a tiny head bop going on).

In the end, even if Kate Perry is catchy, she still can’t compare to the talent demonstrated here and from past all-time greats. Please music industry, let talent shine and give artists the chance to prove if they have what it takes to sing their hearts out on stage. No more auto tune, kthanks?