When Your Obedience to God Drifts into Duty

I recently had the opportunity to attend our Church's annual women's retreat. This was my third consecutive year attending the event, and each and every year I have left immeasurably blessed by the faithful biblical instruction and wisdom I receive. 

As I conversed with other ladies who had attended various breakout sessions on various topics, one thing was evident: the Spirit of God was at work in the hearts of each and every lady in the most specific, personalized, and tangible ways--including my own. However, it was during a rather unexpected point of the women's retreat when the Spirit brought some specific truths into my mind which ministered to me in a living and active way. 

On the second day of the retreat, I pulled into the parking lot and was about to step out of my car when one of my favorite songs started to play. You know when a song is just too good to resist listening to again--no matter how many times you've heard it before? For me, this was one of those songs. As the piano intro commenced, and as the first stanza rang out through the speakers, the words of this familiar tune fell upon my ears with new and deeper purpose:

More love to thee, O, Christ, 

More love to thee.

Hear now the prayer I make

on bended knee.

This is my earnest plea-- 

More love, O, Christ, to thee.

More love to thee. 

More love to thee.

To understand how the Spirit worked through these lyrics to remind me anew of God's truth, I must first confess the typical day-to-day condition of my heart as a wife, a mother and a homemaker.

Some days, I willingly set my mind above and embrace my various roles with enthusiasm. But other days, I feel as though I am running on fumes of sinfulness alone. I become lazy about my routine, embittered by my housework, angry with my children/husband, and selfish with my time. Over and over again, I am confronted with the choice of obedience or disobedience. And although I know I should obey the Lord in these instances, I often fail to remember why.   

As I listened to this song, the Spirit reminded me of why I ought to make it my aim to obey God in everything I do. Simply stated--my obedience to God is the avenue through which I can express my love for God.  

For so long, this critical motivating factor has been absent from my obedience. I might obey because I don't want to come off as hypocritical to my children, or so I can boast about it through some online platform later. I might obey because I know it will put an end to a feud I'm having with my husband, or so I can avoid feeling the guilt of failure. There always seems to be an agenda behind my obedience. However, I hardly find myself obeying Jesus as a conscious act of love for Him.

But a genuine, indebted, and joyful love for Jesus should be what's driving everything I do--especially my obedience.

Jesus himself said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). He makes it clear that our motivation to obey Him hinges upon our love for Him.

So then, love is the very heartbeat of our obedience to God. Every circumstance in which we choose to obey Him--both in thought and deed--we are essentially saying, "I love you, Lord. And because I love you I want to do what you say is the right thing to do in this moment." It matters that our obedience is compelled by our love for Christ, because, as Christians, our greatest priority in this life is to love God--with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:36-38).

"More love to Thee, O, Christ. More love to Thee." There ought to be no greater agenda than to love Him more.

May the people of Christ make this their earnest plea. May our love for Christ be the underlying motivation for our obedience. When we're tempted to blow up at our children, may our love for Jesus compel us to be gracious and kind. When we're tempted to indulge in secret sins, may our love for Jesus stop us dead in our tracks. When we're tempted to grumble about our circumstances, may our love for Him cause us to instead give thanks. May we learn to obey Him less out of a sense of pretense, duty, convenience, guilt, or pride and more out of love.

Furthermore, as we seek to restore our sense of love for Him, it will do our hearts good to remember how He has first loved us (1 John 4:19). He loved us by willingly leaving His position in Heaven to become a servant for us (Philippians 2:6-7). He loved us by taking on flesh and blood and making himself like us (Hebrews 2:14). He loved us by subjecting Himself to every possible temptation that ensnared us (Hebrews 4:15). He loved us by walking in perfect obedience  to God and crediting His sinless, righteous life to us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He loved us by hanging guiltless on a cross for us (1 Peter 2:22-24).  He loved us by tasting death for us (Hebrews 2:9). He loved us by absorbing God's wrath and punishment for us (Isaiah 53:5). He loved us by defeating death, being raised from the dead, and making eternal life possible for us (Acts 2:24). As we continually think upon His stunning love for us, our love for Him will, in response, yield authentic, God-pleasing obedience.

So, fellow believer, join me in nurturing your affections for Christ by meditating regularly upon who He is and what He has done for you. Incline your heart to love Him more and more each day--in such a way that obedience becomes the natural byproduct.

As His redeemed and adopted children, He longs for and takes pleasure in our sincere, loving obedience. As 1 Corinthians 13 makes clear, we gain nothing if there is no love behind our doing. So, at the risk of obeying the God of all creation in vain, let us obey Him in love.

5 Biblical Principles Every Christian Should Adopt

Several months ago, I began compiling a list of biblical principles that could help guide my attitudes and actions. I wanted to share the fruit of my labor with other fellow believers, as I have found these principles to be so profitable and practical, thus far. I have committed to memorizing them, meditating upon them, praying over them, and applying them to my daily circumstances. I earnestly believe that these principles are relevant and beneficial for believers in every season of life. I pray that the following 5 principles will stir up your sincere love for God--a love that is marked by steadfast, Spirit-dependent obedience to His word.

1. Hide- I will hide God's Word in my heart

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)

About a month or so after giving birth to my second daughter, I eagerly (and somewhat delusionally) retrieved my bag of pre-pregnancy clothes from the closet. In a rather unsightly, see-saw-esque motion, my hips worked desperately to shimmy into shorts of various shapes and sizes--to no avail. Absolutely nothing fit.

No sooner had I pulled the bag's drawstring closed than sin reared its ugly head. I'm so big, I thought to myself. Why won't anything fit? I need to get my pre-pregnancy body back. In the meantime, I need to buy new clothes. I hate the way my hair looks, too--I'm so sick of these dead ends and silver strands. The women on Pinterest look a million times better than I do. I wish I could look like them.

Like a sweeping wildfire, discontentment, ingratitude, joylessness, and envy had completely engulfed my attitude. Sin is masterfully deceitful in that way (Hebrews 3:13). Without much warning, it wages war on the believer's heart. That is why the principle of hiding God's word in our hearts is so relevant and necessary. We need an arsenal of readily-accessible, God-breathed truths (2 Timothy 3:16) to effectively fight against our sin.

In those times when I am being tempted to idolize a certain body image, I need Proverbs 31:30 to swiftly remind me that beauty is vain. In those times when I am being tempted to grumble about my current wardrobe and covet newer, name brand items, I need the corrective prodding of 1 Timothy 2:9-10, which admonishes me to adorn myself with good works rather than costly attire. In those times when I am being tempted to envy the praiseworthy appearance of another woman, I need Proverbs 31:30 to promptly redirect my attention to the fear of the Lord, which is what truly makes a woman worthy to be praised. I need to know and instinctively rely upon God's word in the heat of the battle.

Sin is no light and fluffy matter for the believer.  We realize that our self-serving sin cost Jesus His perfect and precious life; therefore, in grateful response to His sacrifice, we ought to make it our conscious desire each day to fight against it. Psalm 119:11 makes clear that there is sin-fighting power to be harnessed through the memorization of scripture. So then, let us seek to uphold this first principle by committing God's instructive word to our sin-susceptible hearts.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

↠ How are you proactively hiding God's word in your heart each day?

↠ Does God's word have a regular, dominating influence on the way that you think and act?

↠ What are some specific truths from God's word that you need to hide in your heart right now to keep you from sinning?

2. Hasten- I will obey God's Word without delay

"I will hasten and not delay to obey your commandments." (Psalm 119:60)

Recently, my 2-year-old has been cultivating her barista skills. Most mornings, as I set out to prepare my coffee, she insists on helping me. A few weeks ago, upon her eager request, I scooped her up and positioned her next to our Keurig machine. She retrieved and inserted the K-cup, pressed the buttons, and smiled with delight as we watched the hot coffee stream down into the mug.

Next came the sugar. With her unsteady hand gripped securely in mine, I helped her to maneuver the heaping spoonful directly above the Jacuzzi of steamy, aromatic liquid. I was so close to taking my long-awaited first sip--or so I thought. As soon as I released my hand from hers, the spoon veered to the left and completely overshot the rim, resulting in an explosion of white granules all over our kitchen counter.

In the moment that ensued, I was confronted with two opposing opportunities: I could either obey my own sinful desires (spew with anger), or, I could obey God's righteous rules (stay patient and kind). Much to my humble delight, God used this principle to direct my heart swiftly towards obedience to His commands. Instead of reacting in sinful anger, He helped me cling immediately to 1 Corinthians 13:4 and remain patient and kind toward my daughter.

It's not enough to merely hide God's word in our hearts.  As believers, we should also strive to obey His word expediently in accordance with the example of Psalm 119:60. Whether we're withholding forgiveness from our children or giving our spouse the cold shoulder, we all have the tendency to consciously entertain our sinful desires longer than we ought. Although we may know what God's word says in regard to our sinful behavior, we suppress His truth rather than submit to it time and time again.

But thanks be to God that we no longer have to remain slaves to our sinful desires. Through Christ, we have been freed from our enslavement to sinful desires and are now capable of obeying God's commands by God's empowerment (Romans 6:17).

Hastened obedience to God's word is a principle that absolutely matters to the believer. Let us then apply it to our lives prayerfully and steadfastly. Doing so will result in the rewarding fruit of sanctification and spare us from the ugly consequences of our own sin (Romans 6:20-22).

Questions for Personal Reflection:

↠ Is your day-to-day obedience to God's word marked by willing, hastened submission or stubborn, delayed suppression? 

↠ In what ways have you been obedient to God's word without delay recently? 

↠ What are some patterns of blatant, reoccurring disobedience in your life that need to be confronted and then prayerfully conformed to Psalm 119:60? 

3. Have- I will have the attitude of Christ Jesus

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had." (Philippians 2:5)

As any parent can attest, babies have impeccable timing. Whether you're just sitting down for a meal or finally stepping into the shower at the end of a long day, they can somehow sense your preoccupation and immediately turn on the water works.

Take, for instance, the evenings when my husband is out. On those nights, my 4-month-old will often transform from Jekyll to Hide. Without fail, that's her cue to fuss excessively and to rob me of my plans, my time and my energy.

One night this past month, in typical "Daddy's Night Out" fashion, she put up an hour-and-a-half long fight before finally succumbing to sleep--thereby ruthlessly sabotaging "Mommy's Night In". However, in the midst of her bed-time mutiny, God provided me with a practical opportunity to meditate upon this third principle: the loving attitude of Christ.

God's word says that we know what true love is by looking at what Jesus did for us. It says in 1 John 3:16 that, "He laid down His life for us". Simply put, His love for us came at a high cost to himself--it cost Him everything.

As I paced to and fro in the nursery that night--willing my daughter to fall asleep with every fiber of my being--I was both challenged and instructed by this truth. My love for my daughter, if it is to look at all like Christ's love, should be costing me. It should be costing me my time, my plans, and my energy. My love for her should be costing me just as Jesus' love cost Him.

We are commanded to imitate the selfless and sacrificial love of Christ. We are called to lay down our very lives for others just as Christ did for us (1 John 3:16). Therefore, we lay down our time to love others like Christ. We lay down our preferences to love others like Christ. We lay down our possessions to love others like Christ. We lay down our conveniences to love others like Christ. We lay down our physical comfort to love others like Christ. We lay down our personal agenda to love others like Christ. We lay down everything in order to display the costly, cross-bearing, committed-even-unto-death type of love that Christ lavished upon us.

So, fellow Christians--as we interact with those who interrupt our plans, demand our time, and deplete our energy, let us conform our me-oriented attitudes to the loving attitude of Christ. Furthermore, let us rejoice when we love others at a high cost to ourselves. In loving this way, we are having the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

↠ How are you loving others at a high cost to yourself?

↠ What is the attitude of Jesus like according to God's word? 

↠ Can the people in your sphere of influence attest to your Christ-like attitude and love? 

4. Hope- I will hope in the truth of the Gospel

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved..." (Ephesians 2:4-5)

I was made aware of my sin for the first time when I believed in Jesus. I was made even more aware of my sin when I married my husband. Now that I'm a mom, I feel like the full-blown poster child for sin! Parenting makes me painfully aware of my own sin each and every day. Despite my most valiant efforts, our toddler manages to completely exhaust my patience and kindness with her foolishness and disobedience (Proverbs 22:15).

A while back, I was having a particularly trying day with my oldest daughter. It all started when she woke me from my slumber (much too early, might I add) demanding food. The rest of our day was polluted with non-stop whining, tantrums, and utter insubordination. As a result, I spent the whole day lecturing, correcting, and disciplining. By sundown, I was put-off by my own child altogether--after all, her behavior had been atrocious on every level.

But as I settled down for bed that evening, my frustration turned to despair. I sat and wondered why my daughter just couldn't get her act together. What's more, I wondered why I couldn't get my act together. Why couldn't I manage to go a single day--let alone a single hour--without reacting impatiently, harshly, and irritably? I was deflated by my own sinfulness as much as I was by hers.

However, that night, while reading my Bible in bed, I read a passage from Titus that revitalized my despondent heart. After a long and weary day of parenting a foolish and disobedient child, this verse reminded me that I, too, was once foolish and disobedient. In similar fashion to my daughter's behavior, my behavior was atrocious on every level. Essentially, I was an insubordinate, defiant "toddler" in God's sight--willfully contradicting His commandments over and over.

And what did He do in response to my rebellion? Titus 3 says that in goodness and loving kindness, God extended mercy to me and saved me from my own self-destructive, hell-bound behavior. He saved me because He is good--not because I was good. He gave me the gift of grace that I did not deserve instead of the gavel of justice that I did deserve.

Oh, how I need these sweet reminders of the Gospel every single day. When the reality of my own sin threatens to annihilate my hope, I must cling to what Jesus has done on my behalf. God has forever pardoned the guilt of all my sin--past, present and future--by sending Jesus to live the perfect, sinless life I could not live and to die the sinner's death I deserved.

Likewise, when the reality of my daughter's sin becomes more than I can bear, I must remember the mercy of God that I have been shown--so as to persevere in loving and forgiving her despite her sinfulness.

Hoping in the Gospel, every second of every day, is the most important principle we could adopt as believers. So, my fellow saints wearied by sin, I pray that you will join me in actively thinking upon the truth of the Gospel. At the risk of Jesus' sacrifice becoming old news rather than good news, let's preach the Gospel to ourselves every day--meditating upon the beauty of its sin-pardoning, joy-restoring power at all times.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

↠ How has the Gospel of Jesus Christ been actively shaping your attitude, interactions, and agenda? 

↠ Does the reality of your sin and the sins of others drive you to the grace of God or to the depths of despair? 

↠ What are some Gospel truths you can start hiding in your heart and applying to your daily circumstances?  

5. Hold Out- I will hold out God's word to all people

"And he said to them, 'Go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to the whole creation.'" (Mark 16:15)

I can vividly remember what my life was like prior to becoming a Christian. In the angst of my adolescent years, I can recall being plagued by feelings of uncontrollable rage, bitterness, hatred and hopelessness in response to the circumstances of my life. Try as I might to change, I felt imprisoned by my own emotions.

I was also paralyzed by anxiety and fear. I would agonize over the brevity of life and the imminence of death. I was troubled deeply by the seemingly hopeless and unsearchable fate of all mankind. What is waiting for me beyond my final breath, I wondered. This fear of dying brought me to literal tears on multiple occasions.

But God graciously held out His word to me. As I began to read the Bible for the very first time, God's word became an agent of comfort, meaning, and hope in my life.

God's word brought comfort to me as I read Psalm 34:4, which says, "I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears." Wow, I thought in amazement. There is a God who can deliver me from my fear of death!

God's word shed a spotlight of meaning onto my life as I learned that the seemingly "normal" teenage emotions which had been holding me captive were actually called sins, and that He was a God who could forgive my sins (1 John 1:9) and free me from them (Romans 6:22).

Finally, God's word introduced me to the hope of eternal life--whereby I would be saved from the eternal punishment for sin as a result of believing in the perfect life, sin-bearing death, and grave-conquering resurrection that Jesus Christ executed in my place (John 3:16).

God's word has radically transformed my life. It turned my fear into peace, my bitterness into forgiveness, and  my death sentence into everlasting life with the God who made me and loves me. I am now completely convinced of its value and power.

Furthermore, the Bible itself has much to say about the value and power of God's word. The Book of Romans confirms that God's word is instrumental in the saving of His people--that as people hear His word, faith in Jesus is made possible (Romans 10:17). In the Book of Acts, we see that as God's word goes forth, more and more people begin to follow Jesus (Acts 6:7). Isaiah 55:11 makes clear that as God's word is shared with others, God Himself will ensure that it brings about the impact He has purposed. Additionally, 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reveals that God's word is a valuable resource to teach us, correct us, and to train us to be more like Jesus.

So, fellow believers, let's cultivate the habit of holding out God's word confidently and consistently to those around us (our children, our neighbors, our spouses our co-workers, etc.)--remembering how God, in great kindness, held it out to us. It's our responsibility and privilege to share it--it is God's divine task to cause it to change people's hearts.

Questions for Personal Reflection:

↠ How has God's word changed your life?

↠ Which people in your sphere of influence need to hear God's word?

↠ Are you generous with God's word? Do you share it regularly with both Christians and non-Christians alike? 

To those of you reading this blog, please bear in mind that these principles are simply not possible to live out apart from the help of the Holy Spirit that God gives us. I do not share these principles as someone who has mastered them once and for all--but as someone whose heart is ever-so-prone to wander and, therefore, must be prayerfully anchored to biblical truth. 

I pray that by imperfectly, yet faithfully living out these 5 principles in my own life, I can display to my daughters the supreme value of treasuring and obeying God's word, of hoping in the Gospel alone, and of sharing the hope I have found with a broken world. I pray also, fellow believer, that these principles will become commonplace in your life--that by the Spirit's enabling, they would help you to walk in manner worthy of the Lord and to love Him with your whole heart, mind, body and soul. 

Ways to Fuel Your Faith While Forsaking Facebook

I recently stumbled across an article by Kevin DeYoung entitled, "Don't Let the Screen Strangle Your Soul." The content of this article challenged me to evaluate my excessive use of Facebook. I was forced to confront my obvious addiction to scrolling and to consider how such an unrestrained use of social media might be stunting my spiritual growth.

In an effort to minimize my over-attachment to Facebook, I have transitioned my use of social media almost exclusively to our family's laptop--which is docked in our master bedroom. Since I no longer allow myself unlimited access on my phone, I am no longer enslaved to scrolling whenever my toddler's head is turned or whenever I sit down to nurse my 2-month-old.

Implementing this change has been so liberating and beneficial for my soul. It has freed up significant time throughout my day so that I may learn to devote myself to my faith and my family. Since purging my daily routine of excessive Facebook usage, I have been able to adopt some healthier practices that actually serve to fuel my faith.

For any fellow Christian mother who yearns to experience a deeper intimacy with Jesus and maximize your contribution in the home, consider putting Facebook on the back-burner and start applying some of the following practices to your own daily routine.

1. Revisit One of Your Church's Sunday Sermons

During the initial months of my firstborn daughter's life, I struggled to be present and focused during Church. Because I would miss key parts of the sermon while tending to a hungry or fussy baby, I fell into the habit of simply tuning out altogether. Although I could have easily accessed the sermons online--so as to hear what I had missed--I honestly just never put forth the effort to do so.

However, as I navigate this season of life once again with our second daughter, I am striving not to fall by the wayside when it comes to hearing the preaching of God's word.

Each week, I am attempting to revisit my church's sermon at home and have found it to be a very fruitful practice. I am always amazed by how much more encouragement and instruction I'm able to glean as a result of listening to the message twice. 

Ephesians 4:11-12 rightly reminds us that our pastors (and their sermons) have a critical purpose. They are meant "to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." Hearing God's word spurs us on to serve others, which in turn helps to encourage and strengthen the whole Church.

So, my fellow moms, whether you were fully engaged or hopelessly distracted this past Sunday, I encourage you to start revisiting your pastor's sermons on a regular basis. Doing so can only help to fuel your faith, as well as the faith of others.

2. Incorporate Christ-Exalting Music Into Your Daily Grind

In the past few months, worship music has become my constant companion during dish duty, playtime, laundry-folding, and the like. Mundane tasks such as these don't typically require a great deal of intellectual power. Therefore, they provide me with sufficient time to process my thoughts.

However, when left to my own devices, my mind can easily morph into a breeding ground for sin. Before long, my thoughts become infested with discontentment, judgement​, bitterness, pride, anger, and selfishness.

Thankfully, because of the Gospel, I don't have to remain a prisoner to my own devices. Songs that speak of what Christ has done for me help to rein in my wayward attitudes and reassure me of my freedom from sin. As I lend my ear to powerful, Gospel-centered lyrics, I become all the more eager to forsake my sin, to forgive and love others, and to fervently lean upon Jesus. 

One Christ-exalting album that I return to frequently is "The Gathering" by Sovereign Grace Music. If you're not yet familiar with this group of musicians, I would highly recommend them to you! All of their albums are lodged with rich truths that will fuel your worship and your faith!

In addition, I own a few albums by Seeds Family Worship that I will intentionally have running in the background during my toddler's designated playtime. The songs on these albums are, quite simply, scriptures set to music. Listening to God's truths being sung as we play is a way for my soul to be nurtured while my daughter's imagination is being nurtured. Win-win. 

So, my fellow moms, when your sink is stacked with dirty dishes waiting to be washed or your couch is ridden with clean clothes waiting to be folded--just press play. 

3. Spend Time in God's Word--Whether It's Quiet or Not

I used to think that having my "quiet time" with God meant having both a lot of quiet and a lot time. I would hide away with my Bible and a cup of hot coffee--eager to read and digest a multitude of passages. Then I had children. Suddenly, it felt as though my quiet time had been hijacked.

But this year, I was challenged by a speaker at my church's marriage conference to loosen my grip on such an unpractical and secluded notion of quiet time. He proposed that our time of reading God's word and communing with Him through prayer could (and should) be done in front of our children as much as possible. After all, we can't expect our children to value God's word if they never perceive that it is valuable to us.

So, with this new perspective in mind, I have started reading my Bible at the beginning of my eldest daughter's morning playtime each day. I simply communicate to her that mommy is going to spend a few minutes reading the Bible while she plays. Sometimes she'll choose to read one of her own Bible storybooks. Other times, in typical toddler fashion, she'll do nothing but bombard me with interruptions. I'm learning to be flexible and forgiving as I test out this new approach to "quiet time".

Colossians 3:16 says to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." There are no specifications about how many verses to read or for how long. All that matters is that scripture is living and abounding in our hearts and minds.

So, my fellow moms, carve out time in your schedule each and every day to read and meditate upon God's word. Keep it sweet and simple as you model it's surpassing worth to your ever-watchful children.

4. Look Well to the Ways of Your Household

Mom life can be draining. We are constantly directing, explaining, disciplining, cleaning, teaching, playing, reminding, comforting, chauffeuring, feeding, and dressing. Much of our day is devoted to our children's physical, emotional and spiritual needs.

Although there's very little "down time", I'm beginning to realize that there is a Christ-like beauty to this busy reality.

Mark 10:45 reveals that Christ "did not come to be served, but to serve...". At times when my God-given purpose and significance as a mother become clouded by a perpetual craving for personal time, I cling to Christ's selfless example of service.

As mothers, we have the ultimate privilege, day by day, of imitating Christ in the way we serve our families. The mother in Proverbs 31 models this type of diligent service. It says that she "looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness". She proactively seeks out ways to contribute to her household--resisting the temptation to choose idleness over service.

This does not mean that moms are never entitled to times of rest. Just like our children, we have our own physical, emotional and spiritual needs to tend to at times. However, we should not make it our habit to indulge laziness over Christ-likeness.

So, my fellow moms, in those rare moments of "freedom" while your children are otherwise engaged, choose to fuel your faith by cultivating a life of service to others. After all, any opportunity to become more like Christ--as mundane and tedious as the task may seem initially--is a beautiful use of your time.

5. Read a Book That Will Build You Up

In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, the believers in that region are instructed to "...encourage one another and build one another up...". One way that our generation of believers continues to uphold this model is through the production of God-honoring, faith-fueling literature. There is so much biblical wisdom and encouragement to be reaped from those whom God has graciously equipped to communicate it.

One practice I've started implementing is to bring a book to bathtime. While my toddler turns into a prune, I can turn the pages of an instructive book and be built up in my faith.

At the moment, I am reading a book by Gary Thomas called Sacred Parenting. Each time I sit down to read, whether I manage to get through a single paragraph or a few pages, I am humbly reminded of God's design for parenting and encouraged to persevere accordingly.

So, my fellow moms, as your child enjoys his or her bubble bath tonight (or, if you're fortunate enough to enjoy your own bubble bath), ditch your phone and link arms with a book that will build you up.

6. Pray for the People In Your Life

1 Timothy 2:1 urges believers to pray for all people. I'll be the first to admit that I struggle to pray for the people in my life as I ought. Sure, certain individuals or families in need of prayer will trickle through my mind here and there. However, up until recently, I have lacked the discipline and diligence necessary to spend meaningful, consistent time in prayer for them.

In an effort to uphold 1 Timothy 2:1, I decided to search for a prayer App that could help me cultivate a more fervent and faithful prayer life.

I discovered an App called PrayerMate that has proved to be a fruitful tool for me personally in terms of establishing a prayer routine. This App provides me with the ability to create categorized lists of people to pray for. I can then structure the frequency and content of my prayers for each individual person.

Such a systematic, structured approach to prayer might not be a good fit for all believers--but it has definitely helped to lasso my wild, untamed prayer life. I hope to get into the habit of opening this App as compulsively as I used to open my Facebook App.

So, my fellow moms, if you're in need of a simple, yet effective approach to praying for others, clear some storage space on your smart phone--then download an App that will fuel your faith in the God who hears and answers your prayers.

This past week, a couple of seasoned mothers from my church family hosted a gathering for new moms. Their intent was to encourage us in our roles of motherhood.

At one point, the topic of Facebook came up. It seemed obvious that most of the other moms were, much like me, mildly (if not severely) addicted to social media. And, much like me, I perceived that these other moms were desperate to break their bondage, so as to be even more fruitful in their God-given roles.

This blog post is not meant to shame anyone or to impose my own personal convictions onto anyone. I enjoy certain aspects of Facebook as much as the next person. I simply want to strive to enjoy my God and my family more--and hopefully encourage other semi-addicted moms to do the same.

So, my fellow moms, may these six simple practices find a place in your daily routine and may they fuel your faith in the most remarkable and rewarding ways. 

God vs. Google: Casting Our Cares Upon the One Who Knows Them All

The urge to Google during pregnancy is about as strong as the urge to push out a baby during labor.

Before we had even conceived our second child, I would spend hours at night Googling all the signs and symptoms of pregnancy.

After sifting determinedly through each and every search result, I'd either a.) fall asleep convinced that I was pregnant, b.) fall asleep convinced that I wasn't pregnant, or c.) fall asleep mid-read and drop the phone abruptly on my face.

For expectant mothers, the questions, fears, and curiosities only seem to escalate as a pregnancy progresses. Both of my daughters have now managed to stubbornly evade their expected due dates, thereby leaving me to question, fear, and wonder all the more about everything imaginable up until the very (very) end.

This week, I waddled into my 40th week of pregnancy. They did an Ultrasound to check the health of our little lady and estimated that she is weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds and 3 ounces. My doctor didn't waste any time explaining some of the possible complications that could arise from delivering a larger baby (Don't worry--I won't subject you to the same graphic images). Let's just say that her risk analysis did nothing to put this overdue, walking incubator at ease.

Quite the contrary. Her news sent me into another all-too-familiar frenzy of online searches. Once again, I found myself running to Google for answers, encouragement, and comfort instead of running to God.

I know I am not alone in this. You don't have to be pregnant to understand the obsession we all have with instant gratification.

We want answers to our questions--and we want them now.
We want relief from our fears--and we want it now.
We want assurance and comfort in the midst of our trials--and we want it now.
We want guidance through our troubles--and we want it now.

We hastily consult every available resource we have access to--whether it be search engines, blogs, books, or the listening ear of a close friend--prior to consulting the One who has all the answers.

God has been using this final stretch of my pregnancy to reveal just how unreliable and unsatisfying every other resource is compared to Him. This past week, He has beckoned me to return to the nourishing balm of His word and the surpassing peace of His communion.

Here are six verses that God has been using to redirect and reassure my anxious heart as we wait for the arrival of our newest little blessing. Although most of my reflections on these verses are tailored specifically to my personal pregnancy experience, these truths are not exclusive to pregnant women.

These verses are applicable to any earnest believer who has been struggling to fully and abandonedly trust in the sovereign and capable God of the Bible. So, my fellow believers, consider these truths in the context of your own questions, doubts, fears, and trials. Commit them to your heart and your mind and be blessed by the incomparable flood of comfort and assurance that God alone can supply.


Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the Lord's purpose that will stand." 

From the beginning of my pregnancy, I have planned to have a vaginal, pain-free, labor experience that would mimic my previous labor experience. But this verse reminds me that the Lord has beautiful, immovable purposes for my upcoming birth experience that may or may not synchronize with my plans.  Whether I end up being induced or not, whether I end up with an epidural or not, whether I end up with a c-section or not--the Lord has a purpose in all of it. His purposes cannot be changed. Therefore, I will lean on the certainty of His purposes rather than the uncertainties of my own plans. 

Pslam 139:13-16 "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them." 

What a comfort to know that God has already written every single day of my daughter's life. She will breathe every breath God has planned for her to breathe. She will experience every season that God has planned for her to experience.  She will boycott every nap God has planned for her to boycott! She won't live a second too long, or die a second too soon. God is the sole creator and author of her life, and--as such--I must learn to entrust her life to Him completely.   

Psalm 139:1-5 "O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me." 

When my mind is flooded with worries, I can cling to this truth: God knows my every thought. He knows the sum of all my pregnancy-related concerns. He knows what my Google search history will look like before the day has even begun. Not only does He know the burdens of my heart, but he cares about them. 1 Peter 5:7 confirms this: "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." He also promises to sustain me when I cast my cares upon Him (Psalm 55:22). Because He knows my every thought, cares about them all, and offers to sustain me, I ought to first consult Him for the answers, relief, and comfort I seek.

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

There are so many 'what-ifs' about tomorrow that I could burden myself with today. But thankfully, God knows the propensity of my mind to do so. Therefore, He has graciously commanded me not to worry about tomorrow. Period. This command frees me from wasting precious moments with the ones I love today. It enables me to live, love, and serve fully in the present. Like the gentle nudge of a shepherd's staff, this verse keeps my thoughts from straying to anxious pastures.

Psalm 135:5-7 "For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses."

Oh, for faith to believe in the sovereign control of God. Much like He's doing in the vast, unknown depths of the sea, God is doing all that He pleases in this final stage of my pregnancy. Much like there is a sovereign appointment for every bolt of lightning and every gust of wind, there will be no accidents in the remainder of my pregnancy.

Philippians 4:4-7 "The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This verse has been so instructive to my heart this week. It has taught me, ever so practically, to transform my worries into prayers and to humbly present God with my requests. When I've worried about my baby getting stuck on her way out, I have let my requests be made known to God--God, please keep her from getting stuck during my delivery. When I've worried about my epidural wearing off at critical moments, I have let my requests be made known to God--God, please allow any medicine I receive to work promptly and effectively. Prayer is God's full-proof, prescribed method for experiencing His peace--a peace that far surpasses what that of any opinion/experience-driven pregnancy discussion board can provide.


There is no mystical formula for experiencing the peace of God we all crave. We must simply be intentional to consult Him and His truth as our primary source.

One day this past week, I carved out some time in my schedule to jot these verses down on some index cards. I've made it a point to consult these scriptures multiple times a day. I've paused expectantly over each line to meditate and pray--allowing my mind to be captivated by what is true.

As a result, I've been consulting Google less and less. And while there is still no baby in my arms at this moment in time, there is a surpassing peace in my heart.  

Teaching God's Truth to Our Children

It has brought my husband and I tremendous joy to watch our firstborn daughter grow and develop from a newborn to a toddler. We praise God continually for her capacity and eagerness to learn. As any parents can attest to, it is a remarkable experience to witness your child approach and conquer various milestones.

My husband and I are beyond excited to watch her continue acquiring knowledge throughout the span of her life. We are especially eager to see her discover the truth about God--who He is and what He's done for her through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Convinced that God has entrusted us with the responsibility of training our children to know and love Him, we recently set out to establish a system of spiritual instruction that would work for our family in this season of life.  As we've pursued this God-given task of instructing our daughter, God has been abundantly faithful to provide our family with helpful ideas, materials and scriptures to implement.

As an encouragement to other parents who desire to raise their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, I wanted to share some of the practical principles that have helped to shape our family's current regimen.

1. Depend on God to Give the Growth-It is clear from God's word that our parental responsibility is to merely plant seeds of truth while praying and trusting God alone to grow our children's faith. This truth keeps me anchored to my teaching mission, helps to alleviate my worries, and stretches my faith in God all at once. God is in the business of making dead hearts come alive-- through faith in Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit. We have only to commit ourselves to the work of Godly instruction and place our complete hope in Him to grant our children new life. 
2. Consider Your Content-When I first started praying about what to teach our daughter specifically from God's word, I settled upon the Gospel of Mark.  I literally spent hours trying to put each subsection of Mark into "toddler friendly" language.  Admittedly, I began to overcomplicate and over think the concepts in the text (sin, forgiveness, repentance, etc) and how to effectively communicate them to a toddler. I started to doubt myself and my decision to teach Mark. I humbly took a step back from my initial plan and began to consider the core components of the Gospel. I broke down the Gospel into 12 main points, which could be formulated into 12 guiding questions. Then, I found simple memory verses that captured the essence of each point. Since toddlers learn best with consistent exposure to concepts over time, I decided to devote an entire month to exploring each question with our daughter. Once my content was clear, it was easier for me to plan out related activities and lessons. 
3. Consider Your Season-With the impending birth of our second daughter, we knew that the system of instruction we created would have to be sustainable. If it required excessive, unrealistic amounts of time to plan and implement, then it probably wouldn't happen on a consistent basis. I developed a template that would enable us to stick to a predictable, manageable rotation of activities from Monday through Friday. For example, every day we review our memory verse and use our Bible felt board to explore the question of the month. On Mondays, we do a coloring sheet related to the question of the month. On Tuesdays, we use playdough to explore the question of the month, etc. This systematic approach to instruction has kept us organized and prepared, has given our daughter access to various creative platforms, and should allow us to maintain a sense of routine once our newest little blessing has arrived!
4. Consider Your Gifts-As a former Early Childhood Educator, I am well accustomed to creative tasks. I thoroughly enjoy creating things--schedules, learning activities, crafts, and the like! So, when I started scanning Pinterest for instructional inspiration, I was drawn to the thought of creating and utilizing a felt board to help facilitate our daughter's spiritual learning. I recognize that not all parents have the time, desire, or ability to trace and cut out billions of miniature Bible figures--but this was a project I knew I would enjoy designing to meet our family's needs.  If you're gifted in music, use music! If you're gifted in technology, use technology! Use the gifts, talents and passions the Lord has given to you to do the work He has called you to do.
5. Consider Your Child-Just as God has designed my husband and I to enjoy certain tasks and activities over others, He has designed our daughter with her own unique preferences as well. So, with that in mind, it has been helpful to plan activities that cater to her current likes and interests. If your toddler despises painting, it probably wouldn't be the most effective teaching tool for you to use. I think it's safe to say that most toddlers are enthusiastic about coloring, playdough, drawing and making tangible crafts. Since we've observed this to be true with our own daughter, we have made those things central to our instruction. As she gets older, we can reevaluate her evolving interests and talents and adapt our teaching strategies as needed. 
6. Treasure What You Teach-There's so much more to Godly instruction than imparting mere facts about God to our children. Our Children need to see that we treasure the spiritual truths we are teaching them. Over the month of March, we were exploring the concept of Creation. As we were teaching our daughter that God created the day, the night, the sun, the animals, and the plants, I couldn't help but stop and consider: was I personally in awe of God's creation? As I accompanied her on walks outside to observe the vibrant array of flowers and the endless expanse of sky above, I couldn't help but stop and consider: did I myself gaze upon God's handiwork with wonder and amazement? Yes, it's important for our children to know the truth about God in their heads, but it's equally important for them to treasure the truth of God in their hearts. We have the opportunity to model this for them by treasuring what we teach. It has been helpful to spend personal time reflecting on the content we are teaching--thereby allowing God's word to dwell richly in our own hearts first.
7. Be Flexible, Yet Faithful-The schedule we follow from day to day is flexible. If we have errands or a playdate scheduled for the morning, our instruction can take place in the afternoon (and vice versa). On some days, we might not even get to our spiritual actvities at all! Life happens--and that's OK!!!! However, there is an undeniable temptation to let one lax day run into the next. Laziness has a subtle way of creeping into our lives and preventing precious seeds of truth from being planted and watered. So while there is much room and grace for flexibility, we have learned that we must also fight against our laziness daily in order to remain faithful and intentional about our spiritual instruction. 
8. Ask for New Mercies Each Day-Difficult days will come. I can remember sitting down with our daughter at the felt board one morning, eager to start our Bible time and brimming with patience. We began to talk about God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit--placing the corresponding felt pieces on the board. Well, my daughter couldn't quite get one of the pieces to rest on the board in the exact way she wanted. And so, she attempted to reposition it. Still no luck. She tried again. Then again. And then again, still. She was fixated and I was getting frustrated. I finally snapped and shouted something along the lines of, "Just leave it!!!!" She stopped dead in her tracks and her little eyes began to well up with tears. You can imagine how horrible and hypocritical I felt in that moment--attempting to teach her about our inexhaustibly patient and gracious God with the most impatient and ungracious attitude. But God supplied me with mercy, right then and there, to confess my sin to her and ask for her forgiveness. Yes--difficult days will come. But His mercies are new every morning. 
9. Plan Ahead-Throughout my 3 years as a professional educator, I had to learn the critical skill of planning ahead. Effective planning yields effective learning. So, before Monday rolls around, I try to look at the week ahead and lay out all the materials I'll need. When I fail to plan ahead in this way, I tend to become paralyzed by my own lack of organization and I'm prone to abort my teaching mission entirely. 
10. Stay Humble-The power of any changed heart lies in the Gospel. Our resources and methods, as "perfect" or "impressive" as we may secretly think they are, pale in comparison to the transforming power of God's word itself. God deserves all the glory for every abiding seed of truth that is planted within the soil of our children's souls. So then, we must remain humble, not haughty, when it comes to the instruction of our children. We might be tempted, at times, to compare and contrast our own family's teaching methods with those of another family in a prideful, critical way. We must resist the urge to do so and instead pray for God's word to be faithfully and effectively proclaimed by all of our fellow, God-fearing parents.

Helping our daughter learn about God has been a learning experience of our own. Although the content of what we teach our children as believers is non-negotiable (we are to teach them the truth of God's word as revealed to us in the Bible), the process we use to teach them can (and should) look different for every family!

I do not share our family's current methods in a boastful way, but in a "I'm so encouraged by God's guidance through our journey and want to encourage other parents to persevere in discovering and employing what works best for them" kind of way! 

Below, I've shared some of the resources I've developed to guide our designated "Bible Time" at home. If you have any questions about how we utilize these templates and tools, I would be more than happy to explain!

Also, I would love to hear what has worked for your family! So please feel free to leave your comments below!

This is the content of our instruction right now. We spend an entire month exploring each question. We also spend a whole month memorizing the verse that corresponds to each question. 

This is a calendar template we use to plan our instruction each month. I use this to keep track of the question we are exploring, the verse we are memorizing, and the sequence of related activities we are doing each week.  

This is the 5x7 frame we have displayed on our dining room table every day. We attempt to set aside time at the beginning of every meal for reciting and memorizing our monthly verse. It was Jesus himself who said, "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." It is our family's conviction that we, too, must feast on God's word as if our lives depended on it. It is a low-maintenance method of memorization that we have found to be fruitful for our daughter, as well as for us!

This is our "Bible Board" that we utilize Monday through Friday. This is a great visual for young children and has helped us to more effectively unpack the question of the month. As you can see, this month we are exploring the creation of Adam and Eve!

Her Bladder Control Must Increase, and Mine Must Decrease—One Mom’s Journey of Potty-Training on a Whim While Sick and Pregnant

Our first ever potty-training journey was not planned. One day this past week, while lounging with my 18-month-old daughter in her room, I simply decided to whip out her flashy, “flushable” kid’s toilet and give it a whirl. 

I wasn’t armed with any significant knowledge about potty-training; however, I had heard somewhere or another that it was best to block off your schedule for a few days and hunker down at home. Peering ahead at my schedule for that week, I concluded that I had the perfect 3-day window available! Not to mention, I was battling a lingering cough from the previous week’s cold and had no desire to be out and about. 

Green light! 

So there I was, stripping my daughter down to her birthday suit and plopping her onto this foreign, plastic contraption—cheering her on like it was the coolest thing she’d ever do in her life! Lo and behold, her first few droplets collided ever-so-tenderly with the two metal sensors below, causing her toilet to erupt in cheers of its own!

I snapped a quick photo of her as she curiously and proudly examined her “pee-pee” for the first time, and then I fastened her back into her diaper. I set the kitchen timer to try again in 10 minutes—not really knowing what I had just committed myself (and my husband) to.

I continued on this way for the majority of the morning until my daughter went down for a nap. While she was napping, I casually reached out to a close friend to ask about her personal experience with potty-training. She jokingly said, “Hide yo rugs. Hide yo shoes.”

Uh, wait a minute…why? 

Why would there be any need to hide anything if I was keeping my daughter in diapers whenever she wasn’t directly on the potty? 

Come to find out, nixing diapers completely in between potty sessions was a non-negotiable element of the 3-Day Potty Training Method that worked for her daughter. Well, if it worked for her daughter, then by golly, it was going to work for mine! 

So, after my daughter woke up from her nap, the diaper came off. And that’s when the true fun began for this sick and pregnant mama. I won’t say it has been easy, but I will say I’ve learned (and continue to learn) a lot. My goal in writing this is simply to preserve and share some of the lowlights, highlights, and laughable moments of our potty-training adventure thus far! So without further ado, here they are! Be frightened, encouraged and entertained all at once!

Lowlights

• Bending over a million times while pregnant to clean up pee accidents all over the floor. I’m not exaggerating—a million times. 
• Sitting on the hard ridge of the bathtub for countless minutes of the day waiting for my daughter to exercise her blossoming, God-given bodily functions (I genuinely think I bruised my butt bones)
• Being confined to the house for 3 days straight.
• Having to say “Pee-pee goes in the potty” like a broken record all day. 
• Wiping down my daughter's legs and feet  (and sometimes mine) after each accident.
• Coughing and sneezing so relentlessly throughout those 3 days that my pregnant bladder caused some minor accidents of its own (Is that TMI?)
• Waking up and realizing I had to do the same thing ALL OVER AGAIN. 
• Venturing out of the house to go to Chick-Fil-A on the evening of day 3. I arrived right before the dinner rush and the only spot left was at the threshold of the drive-through (surely to be blocked upon my departure). Little did I know there would be a gaggle of college students at this particular location that night, forming a line that felt longer than the wall of China to a mom on her first outing with a potty-training toddler. I basically swallowed my food whole, while checking my daughter’s pants every 2 seconds. Then, I tried to take her to use the regular-sized potty, thinking she’d get it. Wrong. So as I’m gearing up to go get my refill and rush home, I realize one of my daughter’s shoes is missing. Thankfully, a college girl found it by our table and brought it to me! (Phew!) I got to the car—still no accidents—and tried to make my daughter go pee-pee on her toilet in the back seat (my car was now blocked by an impenetrable line of drive-through customers). After about 20 minutes and no pee in sight, I threw up my white flag and strapped her into her car seat. I hopped into the driver’s seat and managed to knock over my sweet tea (at that point, I may or may not have lost it and had to reassure my daughter that I wasn’t yelling at her). A drive-through customer was nice enough to let me back out of my spot—the only catch being that I had to wait behind the entire sea of drive-through customers ahead of me in order to exit (I thought about ordering an Ice Dream at that point, but then decided against it). I spent the whole car ride home gently reminding Avery that “Pee-pee goes in the potty”. So naturally, I expected her to be dry as a desert when we got home. Wrong again. Her panties and car-seat were soaked. (Wow, that was a long lowlight—but it was definitely one of the lowest, most anxiety-ridden moments of my entire potty-training experience at the time) 

Highlights

• Witnessing my daughter start to make the connection between needing to pee and heading towards the potty.
• Getting to spend intentional time with my daughter by reading many books, singing many songs, and sitting on a single bath towel together for hours because I was too anxious to let her roam around the house. 
• Feeling so stinkin’ proud of the progress she made from day 1 to day 3.
• My daughter being able to sleep through her 2-hour nap without wetting her panties as well as through the night without wetting her diaper (It’s amazing how fast their little bodies can develop control!)
• Seeing my husband join me to cheer her on whenever she had a successful trip to the potty.
• Receiving my husband’s encouragement that I was doing a great job and that he could sense my patience (praise the Lord!)

Laughable Moments

• Watching that chubby little tooshie waddle all around the house.
• Witnessing her first “Poo-poo” happen right before my eyes (No, not on the toilet—but on the garage floor, right at my feet, whilst squatting like a dog.)
• I allowed her to watch some videos on my phone the first day. She watched Barney for the first time. I explained to her that Barney was a dinosaur and proceeded to make a roaring sound. So, throughout the following days of training, she would sit on the potty and start to roar (As if requesting to watch Barney).

All in all, I have felt the Lord provide me with the patience necessary to stay positive during this process. I have had the sanctifying privilege of experiencing what it’s like to extend grace to someone who messes up (literally) again and again and again. I have felt the sense of accomplishment that comes from teaching my daughter one of the most important life skills she’ll ever need. 

Sure, I may have started potty-training on a whim without fully considering the  long-term implications of my decision, but I am so grateful for the memories I’ve made with my husband and our daughter—however stinky and messy they may be!

What is the role of musical worship in the life of a follower of Christ?

So, if you're at all curious as to why I haven't updated my blog recently, it is mostly due to the fact that...drum roll please...life is busy once again! Harold and I have been blessed by God with the ability to buy our first home. As a result, we have been pouring a lot of our time and energy into various home-owner projects. In addition to our transition into home-ownership, I am currently undergoing a transition into life as a first grade teacher.  My summer break officially came to an end as of this past Monday at exactly 7:25am. 

I'm still cannot tell you, with confidence, what first graders are suppose to learn. But I do know this:

Hannah + beginning of the school year + a gazillion things to do = Optimal condition for stress and anxiety

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I had such high levels of stress and anxiety in regards to my work last year. But, this year (By the grace of God alone!) I am proactively resisting the temptation to be stressed and anxious. I've been so thankful that God's peace has truly been guarding my heart and my mind as I have been choosing to submit, rather than carry, my burdens to Him. 

However, the essential question of this post is not so much about dealing with stress. Rather, it is about how musical worship has the capacity to direct our hearts to the God who is far bigger than the circumstances leading to our stress. 

As I was driving home last night, I was listening to two songs on repeat, both of which were by my favorite Christian worship group Sovereign Grace Music. I cannot begin to recall for your the many times these two specific songs have ministered to my soul and directed my weary, doubtful, and distant heart back to God. 

The powerful combination of lyrics, voices and instruments that is otherwise known as music has had a profound role in my life as a follower of Christ. Musical worship has stirred me to turn from various sins, to be in awe of God's holiness, to extend the forgiveness of Christ towards my offenders, to be amazed by God's creation, to cry out in desperation for God's nearness, to remember the account of my own salvation, and so much more. 

From what I can see in Psalm 71:23, musical worship can cause believers in Christ to respond with joy as well:

"My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed." 

In like fashion, musical worship can serve as a time to praise God's mighty, loving, good and altogether wondrous works--whether past, present or future! Psalm 105:2 shows us this particular role of musical worship:

"Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!"

As followers of Christ, we can probably all testify to the powerful role of musical worship in our lives. While I know that musical worship influences us all in different ways--I hope to somehow capture and communicate to you the sweetness of what I experienced last night as I worshiped through music. I will share the stanzas that literally sent chills to my soul as a result of the rich, comforting truths contained within them.

"As Long As You Are Glorified"

This song is all about trusting in and depending upon God during both the peaks AND the valleys of our lives. It is about fully embracing the truth that God is our provider and care-giver in times of both plenty AND need.

The specific stanza that struck my heart was this:

"Are you good only when I prosper?
And true only when I'm filled?
Are you king only when I'm carefree?
And God only when I'm well?

You are good when I'm poor and needy
You are true when I'm parched and dry
You still reign in the deepest valley
You're still God in the darkest night."

Right now, it's easy to be carefree and offer up praises to my King. It's easy because, well...I don't actually yet have a class of eighteen 7 to 8-year-old students and administrators popping into to observe my management of those eighteen students. It's only pre-planning week! So I've been kid-free and observation-free (and therefore, carefree!). But when the kids arrive and the observations start and the pressures of planning and grading rise to unprecedented levels--will God still be my faithful King in whom I trust and praise? It is a comfort to know that no matter what we experience and no matter the depths of our despair, God is still good, and true, and He still reigns! God remains faithful to who He is! And if we choose to truly acknowledge who He is, especially in the midst of trials, we are sure to be at peace.

"I Have a Shelter"

This song speaks of God as our shelter--our shelter from fears, sorrows, weaknesses and sins.

The specific stanza(s) that struck me from this song was:

"No trial is deeper than Your love
that comforts all my sorrow."

No trial is deeper than the deepest, most comforting love that has been and ever will be, found in Jesus Christ alone.