Have you ever had something in your life that was so obviously of the Lord? You know, it’s like you can see that nothing you did created it. It was God Himself that molded it and shaped it to His liking. It’s just so unmistakably obvious that God is the One spurring it all to happen. And you can sit back and see God pointing to it and saying, “That one… yeah… that’s Mine.”

“That One’s Mine.”

Soli Deo Gloria.

“… I know that sometimes my words can be as hard as stone
And sometimes my words have left You feeling so alone
So please forgive me and hear the words I’m saying now
I will spend my whole life looking for a way somehow
To let You know just how precious You are to me
I’ll use the best words I know but I still won’t say it all

‘Cuz what I really want to say
Is what the sun would say to the sky
For giving it a place to come alive
But my words get in the way
Of what I really want to say
Oh what I really want to say …”

I love You, Jesus.

Come breathe in me again today.

You are Life. Come fill me up.

Be seen.

But even then… “What are my words compared to Yours?” …

Fill me with You, for Your name’s sake. For Your name’s glory.

… “Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan a man!” said Mr Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

– “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis (p. 146)

I love You, Jesus. Safety or not. You are worth it.

You are worth it.

I was reading an old post tonight. And I thought it helped explain why I have no desire to get a television.

Further expanding upon the previous explanation:
Television has become so difficult to filter these days. You can’t even watch cartoons anymore without seeing something that is not “child friendly”. Sure you could easily label me as “hiding from the real world”, in fact I’ve even received a similar comment from a close friend. But at what point do we draw the line? See, some parents draw the line at rated R movies. But not all rated R movies; for example, I watched Die Hard with my dad when I was four. Some parents draw the line at sex scenes, kindly asking their child to close their eyes during such obscenities. My question would then be, are you filtering their minds or heightening their curiosity for the deleted scenes? How many of you out there did something that your parents specifically told you not to when they weren’t watching just to see if you could get away with it? Some parents filter out the violent movies, but some of those very same parents are the ones allowing their kids to watch power rangers or powder puff girls.

Where do you draw the line?

At least for now, [later it will be up to me and my husband — Lord granting–] my current solution is to chuck TV. Too often there are messages that I do not support that are flashed upon that screen and in no way do I want to encourage it or be associated with those who are apathetic to the messages that are being programmed into our heads. [All those Cinderella messages that creep in.] Tolerance is taught. And sometimes you just have to put your foot down and say, “No. Not me. Not my house.” I can find better things to do with my time.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

– 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

Come check out the COOLEST band EVER!!! This band is called Watermark. I know, I know.. you (just like most of the world) have yet to hear of Watermark. But that’s ok, because people, like myself, have already heard of them and are out there in the world promoting their songs of true worship and praise.

A little background on them: Watermark is made up of a couple; Nathan and Christy Nockels. Christy’s voice is the main voice on the albums and Nathan sings background vocals and plays all the instruments in the recordings. [Yeah, he’s really that gifted from God alone.] Now, you can read all about their history and their devotion at their site, but I’d like to wet your appetite with these words from Watermark…

“We have to rest in the fact that God measures the heart. Only God can measure what is pure and what is just.”

“Our dream is that God would be blessed by our work, instead of asking Him to bless our work.”

“We’re excited because we feel freedom. This doesn’t mean we have it all figured out, that is definitely not the case, but God is working in our hearts more than ever before. “

“We pray that these songs will be a daily reminder of truth to replace the lies of this world, and that they will bring peace, comfort, and most of all, worship of a holy God into their lives.”

If you do happen to go to their site, click on the “Listen” tab on the left-hand side of their webpage to get a taste of one of their AWESOME CDs, “The Purest Place”. This CD rocks my world and has really helped me focus on my Savior and lead into quiet times with my Lord.

What artists do you know that encourage your passion for our Lord? What songs encourage your verbal declaration of devotion?

Oh, and let me know if you ever want to borrow this Cd. =)