..choosing joy in the brokenness...

Solo, Duet and Trio Show  "The Night of the Stars" last night..
rejoicing that my youngest is still part of this.. this time last year a mass had been found in her kidney and I remember wondering what the future would hold for her..
God was merciful and the CT scan came back clear 2 weeks later..
thankful last night that God in His mercy had spared my oldest from getting hurt by a shooter in the Mall the night before, I was finding myself sitting right next to my Ex-husband and his wife...
dealing with this my soul just chose to praise God.. prayers forming in my mind, not because I wanted to but because my Spirit has learned to praise Him and thank Him at all times and especially when my heart feels vulnerable, assaulted by the brokenness of this world..
this is what is TRUE for all who love the Lord:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

     my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

 So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

 when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

 for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

 My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:1-8

( thanks to Pete Wilson @Cross Point Church, Nashville,TN for tweeting a verse from this Psalm this morning )

praising Him and thanking Him and telling Him how much I love Him focuses my heart and mind and soul on what is important.. His steadfast love is better than life... He satisfies my soul.. He keeps me safe in the shadow of His wings and His right hand upholds me no matter what!

#SoliDeoGloria

... it is ok to not be okay...

one of my fav pastors, a guy named Pete Wilson, a pastor in Nashville, challenged his facebook friends today by saying " Let's be real today... it is ok to not be ok" .... ha....
kind of sad that a pastor would have to say that to his friends, mainly you would think Christians, maybe even from his church... one lady commented that in her experience the church was not a safe place to not be okay...

as someone who likes history, my mind always tries to figure out what happened, in regards to the church, Jesus by His dealings with sinners made it pretty clear that He was very understanding and full of mercy and grace.. His death was the ultimate proof that this is what He was all about... grace, open arms for us, the sinners, and that we are justified through what He did, we are people stuck in this world, not ok, yet loved, accepted  by Him...so what happened?

I think people happened... people, well meaning people for sure, needed to find some way to control what was going on... people like you and me, believers, struggling to trust and just take what His word says at face value and stick to it... instead people came up, and still do today, with rules and regulations and created an environment where it was again (like in Jesus' times, the Pharisees) not ok to be not ok....

man made rules, made up to control what people were doing.... not trusting God, really putting Him in a box... making Him very small....
because, being not ok is ok, not because it is okay to sin,  but because He loves us and is fully aware how broken we are, because of what He did we are forgiven, His spirit in us will never give up on transforming us and making us more and more like Him....

trusting Him for what He has promised and relying on His strength to be transformed... not out of our own strength... if we do that, we do not have to feel that we need to control whats happening around us, we will not judge others and we will be free from condemnation, even if others (even in the church) are judging us...

there is power in transparency, being authentic and admitting not to be ok allows others to see how God is working in our lives... so please, of all places, be ok to not be ok in your church...... admitting things are not okay is difficult, pride has to be put aside... good lesson I think... fear of condemnation...if we know who we are in Christ  that shouldn't bother us... rather we can enjoy the acceptance of the genuine body of Christ... what blessing and freedom in being real... so let's be real, not just today, but always!