As The Deer

"As the deer panteth for the water

so my soul longeth after Thee

You alone are my heart's desire

And I long to worship You.

You alone are my strength my shield

To You alone may my spirit yield...

You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. Psalm 42:1

Tiny Sapling

"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow."
1 Corinthians 3:7

A small sapling...growth from a seed planted...God has shown me over the last weeks that the small sapling is at times all I will see in this life. Most times it is my desire to see the tall, full grown mature aspect of the seed planted, when God only intends for me to see the sapling. He is responsible for all growth and gets the Glory for it all. Any growth at all that we see in this fallen world will be because of His Hand. He makes all things grow, and occasionally lets us plant the seed.

River God

Rolling River God

Little Stones are smooth

Only once the water passes through

So I am a stone

rough and grainy still

Trying to reconcile this river's chill

CHORUS:

But when I close my eyes and feel you rushing by

I know that time brings change and change takes time

And when the sunset comes my prayer would be just this one

that you might pick me up and notice that I am just a little smoother in your hand

Sometimes raging wild

sometimes swollen high

never have I known this river dry

The deepest part of You is where I want to stay

and feel the sharpest edges wash away

Still Seen as Righteous

There isn't a moment when I see an oak tree I'm not reminded how good my God is. I'm memorizing one of my favorite passages right now...Isaiah 61:3

"and provide for those who grieve in Zion
to bestow on them a crown of beauty, instead of ashes
an oil of gladness, instead of mourning
and a garment of praise, instead of a spirit of despair.
And they will be called oaks of righteous, a planting of the Lord
for the display of His splendor".

I took this picture from my parent's backyard, and as I look at it, my eyes are drawn to the different branches. The ones closest to the outside look flimsy and weak, where the the ones closer to the core look strong. As we stick closer to the "core" of the tree, Jesus Christ, we are stronger...not in our own strength, but His.

The neatest thing to me is that no matter where you are on the tree, whether you are weak or strong, if you are in Christ Jesus you are righteous because as God looks upon you, He sees you covered with the perfect, righteous blood of Christ.

Hallelujah! I am so glad to be a part of Him! Where I am weak, He is strong!

Unconditional Love

This is the face I look at every day...all day. Cooper follows me around me all day. Right now, he is laying silently right next to me. I will be sitting on the couch, and he will just come to me and put his head in my lap to let me know that he's there. If I'm sad or sick, he's even closer as if to make sure that I'm okay.

He reminds me of Jesus. His love for me is unconditional. If I'm having a bad day and I don't want him under my feet, I can tell him to go away, and he will for a moment, only to be back right by my side...just like Jesus. He keeps no record of the way I've treated him, even when I spank him for eating out of the trash or when he barks at a runner. I can discipline him, and yet he comes back as if I never harmed him...just like Jesus.

Just like in the movie "Marley and Me", a phrase in the movie says, "If you give him your heart, he'll give you his."...just like Jesus

Fresh Perspective

I had the wonderful opportunity to go the mountains this past weekend and just "veg" with a bunch of wonderful friends. Since I live in Middle Tennessee, I don't get to behold His Glory in this way very often.

As I sat and just stared in amazement at God's beauty through nature, He reminded me of how easy it is to get into a "Glory rut". When I'm at home, I see a lot of the same sights every day...the birds in my backyard; beautiful sunrises through the same set of trees; and just the every day beauty of sameness.

God showed me that there is a HUGE world out there full of His Glory just waiting for me to see and enjoy it. Sometimes it just takes moving out of our "sameness" so that we can get a fresh perpective of His Glory from just a slightly different view. Even if it's just to drive down the road a bit to BellBuckle...His Glory is Waiting! Don't miss it!

Left the 99 for You

To bring you back [lyrics by Paul Alan]

Are you thirsty Standing in the rain?

Not sure where you are Or how you lost your way?

Are you drowning In some bar outside of town?

Searching for something given not found?

A crowd of people But totally alone?

At the front door But worlds away from home?

Light up the nights last regret and Burn your only safety net

Step to the edge

It's such a long way down

Chorus:

I left the ninety-nine to find the one

And you're the one

I walked a thousand miles In this desert sun

Only to bring you back

Only to bring you back

Are you tired Of chasing the wind under water?

Do you aspire to breath again?

Are you dying?

Is that the best that you can do?

Cause you can't find your place

In a world that wasn't meant for you?

Hello it's Me

I couldn't sleep I was just counting sheep

And I'm missing you,

Hello it's Me

I couldn't sleep I was just counting sheep.

"Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?"~Luke 15:14