Get ready to groove

And for the original...Mr Marvin Gaye ladies and gentlemen...

Pslam 51...Enough Said

I read this Psalm the other day, and it convicted me to the core! Kinda one of those hurt-so-good-moments...

Lord, that I would remember it is you alone I am living and breathing for. May I recognize, and not take for granted, the grace you bestow on my life daily, even hourly. Please, let me embrace and not turn away the forgiveness you have bestowed on my life through Your very Son. Thank you. Your love and faithfulness is more than I can comprehend.

"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.
Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

What if...

My step-dad asked me the other day...

"Heather, what in the world would you do if your computer broke?"

My response...

"Buy a new one."

I think he's tryin to tell me something...

What I'm Rockin

I often have people ask me what I'm listening to, or want my suggestions for new stuff, so I thought I dedicate this blog to the artists I'm currently rockin. Here's a list of a few artist I think are worth your time...

Rosi Golan
Check out the album The Drifter and he Gypsy. My fav tracks are I Don't Want to Wait, Hazy, and Been a Long Day.

Jack Savoretti
Album to start with Between the Minds. Tracks Between the Minds, Dreamers, and No One's Aware. Good stuff

Erin McKeown
She's fun and her sound's catchy. Born to Hum and Slung-lo of her album Grand are awesome.

Michael Warren
I'm obsessed with the track No Way from his album Race to Beat the Sun. Such a great sound. Really like the entire album.

Meaghan Smith
Her voice is intoxicating. She's got this vaudeville jazzy sound mixed with a modern contemporary element. I Know and If You Asked Me, and A Piece for You kinda gives you a rundown on her sound.

St. Lola in the Fields
Creative, emotional sounds. They only have an EP out, but it's good. Don't Say and He's in Love are my top picks.

Erin McCarly
Love Save the Empty and SleepWalking are two songs that get me going. Pitter-Pat is a bit slower, more of the ultimate "break-up" kinda song.

The Alternate Routes
I got to see these guys live...they're fun. They got a kinda rock with a bit of softer folk feel to them. Try out The Future's Nothing New and Asked You Twice.

Leona Naess
She's a bit funkier. Her album's title track I Tried to Rock You But You Only Roll goes with me on lots of runs.

Schyler Fisk
I just started listening to her. Haven't had time to listen to a lot of her stuff. I do like Hello and Fall Apart Today. Singer/songwriter genre, but more on the pop side of that.


Alright, would be interested to hear what you thought. And would love to hear YOUR suggestions! I'm definitely a person that would be lost without music, so I'm always up for something new.

Finally...

I've been meaning to update this for a LONG while, but just seem to always find other things to do...after some gentle nudging, some not so nice facebook comments, Ash ;0) , and the stomach flu, I figured it was a good time to go ahead and do that.

So, enjoy the updates below, and there will be a couple more to come...soon hopefully ;0)

A Child of the Great I Am

I came across one of my old newsletters, and this one in particular really jumped out at me. I wrote this almost a year ago...which made me sad. Sad because it took little introspection to realize I'm still living in that sad shadow of a slave. I pray it would cause you to take a second and ask yourself," Am I living as the child He intended, or the slave?"

Tim Keller has done a great study on the book of Galatians. Each week my team and I read through the study through winces and cringing. It tends to cut straight to the heart of the matter, bypassing the pleasantries and getting right at it…just hurts so good. Before I begin each week, I take a deep breath and pray God’s grace to grow and be challenged. All that to say, it’s good stuff…

So, a couple of weeks ago brought us to Galatians 5:1-15. Paul is re-introducing the truths of our freedom found in Christ. He’s confronting the problems coming from those misusing that freedom. That understanding our freedom; the gift of Christ on the Cross, and the love He poured on us, that is what propels us to obey. This lead us to ask ourselves the question, “Am I living as a Son of slave?” So, take a deep breath, and meditate on the differences. Are you living as a Son or as a slave? (Here we go…)

Slave: Compulsive obedience. Obeys God and moral codes out of fear of rejection- a compulsive, driven moralism.
Child: Obeys out of joy in your Father and out of gratitude for the certainty of his love.
Slave: Hiding. Lots of strategies to hide our inner and outer failings from one another and ourselves. Lots of gossip, blame shifting, defensiveness…
Child: Open and transparent. Freedom from having to put up a front. Able to appreciate people who are different and hurting.
Slave: Isolation. Feeling that no one understands, that no one cares. An unwillingness to trust or intense, idolatrous trust of someone who inevitably disappoints.
Child: Because of openness and transparency and a lack of self-absorbed self-pity, a growing circle of friends with whom you are neither too independent nor over dependent.
Slave: Controlled by people’s opinion. Expectations and approval of others become the real moral standard
Child: Integrity and courage regardless of who is watching. “The only person whose opinion counts is my Father’s!”

Trust

“Pray that I would have clarity,” he said. Mother Teresa replied firmly, “No, I will not do that. Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” When the young man commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed. “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”

What I often pray for others and myself is that we will have clarity. That God will give us discernment and wisdom. What I’m realizing more and more is that although these things can be good, what we really should be craving is trust in Him. What I should be praying for others and myself is for God to grant us the ability to trust. Trust is a hard thing. It takes an enormous amount of courage to say with complete truth, “I trust in You. Wherever you lead, I will follow.” Knowledge is so much more comforting than blindly walking. Unfortunately clarity is fleeting, and rarely cultivates lasting trust. It really just temporarily alleviates uncertainty.

As always, I believe this comes back to love. If we cannot say from the depths of our souls that we are cherished and loved by the One and Only, then trust is really just a lofty notion. How can we trust all that we are and will be to someone we don’t believe loves us? If I know God’s love for me is never-ending (Eph 3:17-18), that He will always fight for me (Ex 14:13-14), and His protection never ends (Ps 121:8), then how can I not trust Him? If trusting Him is as hard for you as it is for me, may we revisit daily, hourly if necessary, the depths of His love for us. I long to trust Him completely.