Only Jesus!

Father of grace, You’ve sacrificed
Your only Son for us, the crucified Jesus
Enlarge our hearts to love Your Son
O grant to us the grace to walk with Him always
To make Him our great delight 
Bringing worship with our lives 

Only Jesus! Only Jesus! 
Give us Jesus, we cry
Only Jesus! Only Jesus!
The Pearl of greatest price

Spirit of grace, You’ve shed Your light
Upon our darkened eyes, unveiling Jesus Christ
Come change our hearts, conform our ways
To honor Jesus’ Name, His glory our refrain
Let His love compel our own
As we worship at His throne

Jesus, our great Savior,
Lord of heaven, Son of God


By Doug Plank "Only Jesus", Valley of Vision. 

Lifted Out Of The Depths

I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.

O Lord, you brought me up from the grave, you spared me from going down into the pit.

Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
When I felt secure, I said, "I will never be shaken."
O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.
To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy:
What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help."

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.

O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Psalm 30

Sent

I just returned from annual conference. Came in the door, set down my suitcase, ate a bite, and grabbed my laptop.
I have to process what I heard, and writing is one way I do that.


All weekend the focus has been on sending out those to accomplish the mission of making disciples. It was reflected in the messages of what churches are doing, in the ordination service as they prepared those entering ministry, and in messages by leaders. Bishop Willimon's sermon was titled, "Sent" and he described an errand he was sent on as a young boy, an errand that an adult should have been sent to handle. In conversations around me, I heard a repeated comment about being called into ministry, and knowing that you're called being the only thing that keeps you going during the tough grind of everyday ministry. When the hard days come, you can grit your teeth and keep going because you know you're called to this job, to this task. 


Of course, I immediately think of the errand I am called to accomplish. While a little fuzzy on how it should exactly look, it is to gain a greater understanding of mission, of discipleship, of following Christ and helping others find Christ, too. It is an errand I am ill-equipped to handle, and errand that will cause me to depend on God's strength to accomplish.


I don't know exactly how it will look or where it will lead to. But this weekend, I heard that I am sent, and that in the midst of that, God has called and is sending. 

Feeling Foodie

I'm feeling like a food editor or something by taking that photo up there. Doesn't it look like it should appear in Food magazine or Southern Living or something?
And let me tell you, it tasted as fabulous as it looks. Oh. My.

This pie was from a place called Dangerously Delicious pies in Baltimore. It kind of reminded me of my favorite coffee haunt, Rivertown. It was low key and locally owned. Mom got some scrumptious goat cheese spinach yumminess, and I had this luscious mixed berry pie. Good thing I don't live near there, or you'd have to roll me out the door...

In other foodie news, I'm taking a sushi class Monday! I'm so excited! I can't wait to learn how to make it for myself. I'm already thinking of that first bite of goodness.

I was thinking yesterday about all the good food out there, and how glad I am for taste buds and being able to enjoy tastes and textures and colors of food. Food, an essential to life, and yet something that brings such pleasure, and such communion with other people. Sharing food, sharing laughter, sharing life together while eating and nourishing our bones and our souls.

It's a beautiful thing.

It reminds me of the meal that Jesus urges us to remember together, the last token of His love toward us, as we remember His broken body, and recall His spilled blood. We break bread and drink wine together and realize afresh His love and forgiveness as He was ground up like wheat on the cross and crushed like wine beneath the feet of sinners. The greatest sacrifice remembered by breaking bread together, sharing in a meal together.

And that's a beautiful thing.

Another Smile

I just love the colors of this flower. I was walking along and quickly snapped a photo...and it just fascinates me, the shading and coloring and hues. I haven't changed a thing about this picture. It is straight from the camera.

I didn't realize how much I notice flowers until I started posting the pictures on my blog. :)

Unplugged

The value of silence is often overlooked these days. It's such a busy world. Time for silence and quiet in which to just be and think becomes rarer and rarer. The world keeps turning, and the rush never ends.
I don't mean just the absence of sound around me when I speak of silence. I mean a place of minimized distraction, where thought can occur and echo around in heart and mind. Where there is not another place to be, another person to reply to, another task to accomplish. The silence of a world at a slower pace.
I have been craving the silence of a world at a slower pace. My life has been jam packed. I've loved every minute of it, but it's not a state of being I wish to remain in forever.

I want to unplug.

So this summer that's what I'm going to do. I'm not going to text, facebook, or tweet. I'm going to take time to sit and enjoy the silence.
Perhaps the silence will allow me to write, to read, to focus on the people in the same room with me, instead of the ones on the screen.

I'm sure it'll be a bit of a culture shock to go from constant on-the-go-electronic-connection to a life of no replies, re-tweets, or text messages. But I'm curious about how it's going to turn out. Will I miss it? Will I find something better? Will being unplugged make it too hard to be in relationship with others?
It's an experiment I am anxious to try.

I hope the silence will lead me toward Christ, toward hearing the whisper of His voice in my heart. I hope it leads me toward a more thoughtful existence, toward deeper relationships instead of shallow ones that never move beyond a "like" now and then. I hope the silence will grow new thoughts and new ideas and greater creativity.

So if I'm a little quieter in the coming weeks, know that I'm just being silent, soaking in the world around me, and taking time to notice and think about things I can see and hear and touch, rather than a screen of virtual life.  I want the real deal, and I'm taking a bold step to see if it still exists.

Unplugged.

5 Minutes

I have 5 minutes before time to move to the next thing. 5 minutes for a blog post!

Some things I've been happy about:

• A new Spanish/English Bible. Hopefully this will help my Spanish!
• The last days of a really fun job. I've enjoyed it so much, and hate to see it end. 
• Friends who call and text and go on coffee dates. :) 
• Mom time. She's my bestie.
• Time to just sit and swing on the porch.
• Answers to prayers, and sitting back to see them happen. Always so cool.
• A particularly satisfying project being completed.
• Sunny days that I get to enjoy outside! I love my job!
• The grace of God that transcends everything. 

I'm praising Jesus for the strength He gives, the love He offers and the assurance that He will always be with me.

Thanks be to God.