I sang in a concert last night for a CD I did with some folks from a church. All the proceeds from the CD go towards a shower trailer for some of the homeless people who live in the city near the church. It was a lot of fun! We ended the set with some Christmas songs and before we sang I made the comment that most of the Christmas carols are songs of joy and celebration yet we still sing them like we’re going to a funeral… and then we sang much more jazzed up and joyful renditions of some of the traditional songs. I think some people were a little shocked, but most had smiles on their faces. Anyway, I don’t understand why so many Christmas songs are so slow and minor and melancholy. They’re about joy and celebration and angelic hosts singing “Halleluja!” And I don’t think the angels were crying as they sang, either. Have you ever thought about the words of the songs? Was it really a silent night? It probably was in the fields, until the angels started singing. It probably was in the inn’s barn, until Mary went into labor. And it probably was almost everywhere, except where the Christ child was born. Can you imagine the entire earth holding its breath as young Mary pushed and cried to bring this incredible gift into the world? And can you imagine the awe and then the mighty roaring cheer that arose from the ranks of the angels and the rocks on the ground when Yeshua screamed his way into our existence? To see the Word made flesh and God become Man, how shockingly wonderful! Hark! The herald angels sing! Why do melancholy as the song rings? They’re singing gloria! Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Shout it from the rooftops! Dance in the aisles! This isn’t a day for sorrow and sadness. It’s a day to sing joy! Our savior has come! He is here! The darkness cringes into its corners and slinks away to lick its wounds, knowing that its time has come. JOY! Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!”
I haven’t posted here in a couple of days for a couple of reasons. Yesterday was Sabbath. But Friday was my birthday! And I got a great gift from YHWH – I finally started working at my new school! So, I got the gift of a paycheck (eventually) and benefits (even more eventually). I have no idea how we’ll pay for COBRA or anything like that for the next few months, but I know God isn’t out of control. He knows all the details of all the possible choices and iterations! And that’s pretty amazing! This next week will be a week of upheaval as I start work again and Mr. G goes to preschool at a public school for the first time! I’m freaking out! Being on the parent side is SO different from being on the teacher side… now I understand why all those parents have a tough time when their children head off to kindergarten. Now, imagine doing that with a 3-year-old who may or may not really understand what’s going on…. Yeah. Not fun. Add to that the chaos of timing it all (I have to be at work before Mr. G has to be at school), and you can imagine how it’s turned out home on its head! Now, John will be in charge of getting the boys dressed and to school on time, which is a HUGE change in his schedule since he’s used to staying up really late and sleeping in. It’ll be good for him though. And then on Thursday morning (really early) John flies out with a couple of guys for a Wild at Heart retreat in Colorado, and he’ll be gone until Sunday night! Yeah, I have NO idea how I’m going to get the boys to school. (And my wonderful mom, with whom we live, will be in Africa those days, too!!!) I think when this week is over I’m going to need to sleep for a week! But, God will work all these things out, too. There will have to be some resolution since I can’t just leave the boys at home, and I can’t take days off during the first week. If nothing else, God is teaching me to let go of my agenda and let Him have control of things, because it seems like the more I want to schedule things, the more unpredictable they become! Breathe. Just breathe! Psalm 121 (A Song of Ascent) 1I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? 2My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. 3He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. 5The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever. I have to love it when God brings comfort so early in the morning. I think in the next few days I’ll have to look more closely at this to really understand verses 5, 6, 7, and 8. Thank you, YHWH, for such a beautiful reminder of Your constant guarding and protection! You alone know my going outs and my coming ins. You are my keeper and my shade. You never sleep and You never stray! Praise You O Lord! May You be blessed! May You be honored in my life, and may Your words be obeyed. May Your truth be planted deeply into the soil of my heart and become a blossom that reflects Your beauty, bearing fruit to feed Your people. Be praised of God! Almighty One, Redeemer of my life, Lover of my soul, Bringer of Truth, Light in the Darkness, Keeper, Protector, Guardian, Guide, Faithful to the end of eternity, Blessed be Your Name! Amen!
Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever. The first part of this verse is the same word repeated: make know make known to me the path of live alive… There is emphasis on knowing this path. It is critical to life. It is the way to live alive. Sounds kind of repetitive, right? But it’s not; there are a lot of people who are living dead. The things they pursue don’t bring life. To know the path of living alive is part of knowing and pursuing a relationship with The Life – Yeshua (remember, “I am the way, the truth, the LIFE”?). There are a lot of times when I feel like the living dead stumbling through life, even though I have been redeemed and seek to be obedient. But all the same, just because it’s not easy, doesn’t mean I am not alive. The last part is cool, too. Before God’s face there is fullness, abundance of joy. It’s not just about being in the same room as God. It’s about being before His face. It’s possible to be in the same room but not be acknowledged by the king. When I am in His presence, He acknowledges that I am there. I am before His face – He sees me. To be known, acknowledged by the King of Everything, should bring overwhelming joy! I am not nobody. I am KNOWN because He allows me in His presence, before His face. What joy that is!
Psalm 32:5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude I read this verse and paused at the Interlude. I’ve always kind of ignored them in the past, but this time I got a great image in my head… Imagine David, with relief and joy, singing this Psalm and getting to the part about all his guilt being gone. What does he do in this interlude? The happy dance!!! I can totally see King David doing a dance for joy, like my little 2-year-old when his favorite song comes on. He is so excited and overwhelmed by the relief forgiveness and cleansing brings. Love it! When was the last time you danced for joy?
1 Corinthians 15:58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. There are a lot of times when I feel like the things I do are useless and don’t seem to make a difference. But this verse is encouraging because it says that nothing I do for God is ever useless. I guess an example of this would be the experiences I had a long time ago in college. I’m not sure if I did them for God or if, rather, they were done to me to be used by God. But, whatever the case, they were not useless experiences because God can, and has, used them to touch other people’s lives. He has been faithful to turn death into life. Also, just because I can’t fix a situation doesn’t mean that it was worthless. I’m not meant to fix every situation. That’s not my role. That’s God’s role, if He chooses t fix it. Not doing something because I feel like I can’t fix it is a bad excuse. Nothing I do, if God is at the helm, is useless. It also says to be enthusiastic about God’s work. Sometimes I find myself mentally moaning about the perception of something I should do because I think it’ll be a lot of work, or it seems like something I don’t want to do. An example, sometimes I dread working with people less fortunate than me because I feel awkward or afraid, and I don’t know what to say or do. But, I should welcome these opportunities and dive in enthusiastically. To hold back is pride and fear, and neither of those are things I want to work further into my life. It’s easy to be enthusiastic about the stuff I want to do, but it’s being enthusiastic about the other things that helps me to grow and lets God work more good stuff into my life.
Zephaniah 3:17 For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song. This imagery in this is great, and it tells a lot about God’s personality! I would love to hear the sound of God’s singing! I’ll bet He has the most incredible voice ever! I can picture him exulting – dancing and jumping, like my 2 year old when he gets really excited about something – and grinning and clapping His hands. It’s cute in a little child, but when it’s my Creator who’s excited and happy about me… Wow! That’s gotta be incredible! I also love how His love calms all my fears. Right now, with things kind of crazy like they are there are a lot of fears. But His love is the remedy for all of them, because if He loves me (and He does) then all His plans are good which means I don’t have to be afraid of the plans He has. And nothing happens arbitrarily or by chance (although there are still consequences to my poor choices if I step outside His will). My might Savior! How awesome is He! He rejoices over me! He calms all my fears! He sings a happy song! He exults over me! What a great way to start the morning!
Habakkuk 3:17-18 Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vine; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the LORD! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. This verse reminded me a lot of our current economic situation. The fig trees have no blossoms, there are no grapes on the vine, and the fields lie empty and barren. Jobs are scarce, many people have lost their homes and life savings, and yet others are struggling to make it through each day and put food on the table. But the author, while he acknowledges these difficult times uses that contraction “yet” – despite it all. He will rejoice and be joyful in God – my salvation. My Salvation isn’t just a pretty term. Salvation is the One Who Saves. It’s one of God’s attributes. He saves. He saves physically, spiritually, economically. He does it all. So, the author is praising God because he knows that God can rescue him (and us) from the bad conditions of the country. In these times when things are difficult (and believe me, my family knows about difficult, even though we’ve been blessed to still have jobs), we can choose to rejoice in God our salvation. Easy? Nope. Helpful? Yep. It’s amazing how a little praise can change your perspective on a situation.