How can I keep from singing Your praise...

This week has been nothing but emotion and stress filled. I was in the car the other day when this great song came on and it reminded me that no matter where I am in my life, no matter how stressed, how sad, how angry, how hurt I am...I can't help but sing. I can't help but praise God even in the midst of the crazy things that are going on in and around me.

No matter where we are in life, God doesn't change. We have two choices when we are in the midst of hard times and they are to either stand up and praise God for being with you and guiding you through it or becoming angry and denying God. Sometimes choice two is seemingly the easier choice but eventually we all need to realize the strength and the power God has over our lives.

So...this week, although difficult and scary and hard I chose to sing. I chose to lift my praise even when I had no other words to say and even when I didn't know what I was singing. God heard me, understood me, and gave me the peace and grace I needed to carry on.

How Can I Keep From Singing- Chris Tomlin

There is an endless song, echoes in my soul
I hear the music ring
And although the storms may come
I am holding on
To the rock I cling

How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough?
How amazing is Your love!
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart want to sing

I will lift my eyes
In the darkest night
For I know my Savior lives

And I will walk with You
Knowing You'll see me through
And sing the songs You give

I can sing in the troubled times
Sing when I win
I can sing when I lose my step
And fall down again
I can sing 'cause You pick me up
Sing 'cause You're there
I can sing 'cause You hear me Lord
When I call to You in prayer
I can sing with my last breath
Sing for I know
That I'll sing with the angels
And the saints around the throne.

How can we keep from singing? Seriously. It seems like such a little thing and yet I find that when I sing, I am closest to God. I can't stop singing.

Captivating

I'm reading a book entitle Captivating, and have totally fallen in love with what it is trying to speak to. It is a book directed towards the heart of women and it surely has touched me as I've been reading. The biggest thing that has impacted me in the 3o pages or so that I have read is that God is like women in that He is a relational being. As women, we are relational. We long to have relationships and we constantly are forming and nurturing them. God is the same way. God longs for us to have a relationship with Him. He longs to be loved, as do we as women. I think that the thing I struggle with the most in my relationship with God is understanding why, why would He want a relationship with me? I'm not anyone special, I'm just another status quo girl, and yet He longs for a relationship with me. That to me, is very hard to wrap my head around.

I recently came across a song, also quoted in the book, that I feel is how so many of us probably feel. It reminds me that God truly does see me as beautiful, He sees me as perfect, and while I can not see myself as such...He will continue to. It's called Beautiful by Bethany Dillon, check out the lyrics!

Laughter

I've been watching two little ones this weekend and their little laughs have captured me. It's amazing how the slightest thing such as a "big push" on the swing or a "BOO" can bring about the heartiest laugh. It's then that I wonder...when did I lose that childlike humor? I miss it. I miss laughing at the silly things that don't seem so silly when you are all grown up. I don't know that there is anywhere in the Bible where it says to laugh often, but I feel like we should all aim to have that childlike humor that allows us to laugh often. This is short and probably a bit scattered and boring but...it's what I'm thinking about right now!

Fear

Fear. I've spent my entire life in fear. Fear that I will upset someone. Fear that I won't wake up in time. Fear that I'll fail at my life plans. Fear that I will disappoint the people I love the most. Fear that I will fall (if you knew me, you'd understand why!) Fear of the unknown. Fear of death. Fear of strangers. Fear of not fitting in. Fear of get this....fear.

It wasn't until just a few weeks ago that it was put into perspective for me. Fear can and will run our lives if we let it. How many times have you allowed yourself to be held back by your fear? I know that I personally have allowed fear to fun my life. I have grown up very shy and afraid to speak, I've said no to many life's experiences because of fear. I almost altered my entire college career path because I was afraid I would fail. When I was in church a few weeks ago the pastor discussed fear and how it can hold us back. He posed this question, "what would you do if you knew you would not fail?"

I have not been able to get that question out of my mind since that day. God has a plan for each of us and if we are doing what He has planned for us...we'll never fail because He won't let us. I went to college to become an elementary teacher. In the months before my student teaching I began to panic, afraid I would fail, afraid I would fall on my face and ruin kids' lives. I'm not joking, these were my thoughts as I fell asleep at night. I decided to make alternate plans, I decided to student teach, be terrible at it and then go on to get my masters in divinity to become a pastor. Well, that turned out to be my plan, but God's plan was for me to student teach and thrive as a teacher. This is a constant reminder to me of why we have faith, why we need to trust and how true God is to His word. "For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to proser you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

I've entitled this bog after a song called Father by Jadon Lavik...check it out.

Praying you feel God's presence today!
Karen