My Everything

"Simply put, if you're not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can't be my disciple."  Luke 14:33 (The Message)

Jesus Culture is one of my new favorite groups to listen to for worship music.  Their song, My Everything, describes exactly what this scripture is talking about.  If we want to be followers of Christ, then we must make Him our everything.

Desires of Your Heart

For years, I have been going to the Houston Rockets basketball games.  And for years, I've wanted to meet Clutch, the Rockets Bear.  Clutch is adorable, funny and always makes me want to smile.  I've only ever seen Clutch from far away, but it was always a desire of mine to meet him.  It wasn't anything that I ever put on my goal board or my bucket list, it was just a little something that I hoped to be able to do one day.  

Well, just last week, that desire came true.  We were at a Rockets game, and we happened to be at the right place at the right time (Thank you, God!) and we got to meet Clutch, get his autograph and take our picture with him.  I was more excited about it than anyone else in my family - even William!

That night, God reminded me that although I may have counted this desire as something small and not that important, He still knew it was a desire of my heart.  Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."  It is so awesome to know that God loves us and He longs to give us the desires of our heart when we first delight ourselves in Him.   

Have a great week!
Lori

Beautiful in its Time

I've always envied other parents whose children held their hands.  Whenever I try to hold William's hand, he refuses with a loud "No!"  Even when we are about to cross the street, I tell William that he needs to hold my hand so that I can make sure he is safe, but he still refuses.  In those instances, I just grab his hand anyways and he ends up walking next to me kicking and screaming.  This always made me so sad because I started to believe that William would never want to hold my hand. 

Well, a couple of weeks ago, something wonderful happened.  One afternoon, William and I were walking across a parking lot, and when I told him to hold my hand, he simply reached up and grabbed my hand without any protest at all.  He held my hand and walked peacefully across the parking lot with me.  It was an awesome moment!

Ever since that day, William is much more willing to hold my hand, whether we're crossing the street, going down a flight of stairs or just walking in the grocery store.  The desire that I always had for William to hold my hand is now a reality, and I thank God for it.       

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says "Has has made everything beautiful in its time."  Having William hold my hand without protesting was one of those things that God made beautiful in His own time.  In His perfect time.  Sure, I would have liked for it to happen a lot sooner, but maybe William wasn't ready yet.  Maybe William needed more time to excercise his independence.  Or, maybe God was teaching me a lesson to be patient and to wait for Him and His timing.

There may be something that you are wanting and waiting for in your life.  A business you are trying to start.  A book you are trying to write.  A song you are trying to sing.  Your dream and vision may not look as beautiful and lovely as you would like it to be, but I encourage you to keep pressing on, through the "ugliness" of it all, and trust that God will make everything beautiful in its time.     

Have a blessed week,
Lori

The Winning Side

Last Tuesday night, I had the incredible opportunity to witness the Baylor University women's basketball team defeat Notre Dame to become the NCAA National Champions.  Although I was only watching the game from the couch in my living room, as a graduate of Baylor University, I felt like I was right there on the court celebrating with them.  I even felt like I was a part of the team - the national championship team.   

This reminded me a lot of my relationship with God. 

Yesterday, on Easter Sunday, we celebrated Jesus Christ being risen from the dead.  You see, when Christ rose from the dead, he conquered the grave and proved victory over death.  Jesus was and is victorious!  And since I am in relationship with Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:28-29, The Message), then I believe that means that I, too, am victorious.

For so many years, I told myself this story about how I wasn't good enough, how my voice wasn't good enough, and how my songs weren't good enough.  Well, today, I have a new story. 

My new story is that I am good enough!  I am good enough not because of anything that I have done, or anything that I ever will do, but because of what Jesus did when he died on the cross and then rose from the grave three days later.  That alone makes me good enough.  That alone makes me victorious.  That alone makes me know that I'm on the winning side.   

My Blessing Has Come

Two weekends ago, we celebrated our son's 3rd birthday.  The entire week leading up to his party, I kept telling him that his birthday was coming.  When we sent out the party invites, I told him it was because his birthday was coming.  When we picked out the decorations, I told him it was because his birthday was coming.  When we baked cupcakes, I told him it was because his birthday was coming.

With every chance that I got, I wanted William to know that his birthday was coming. 

On the day of the party, William was so excited.  Even though I had been preparing him for this moment, I still wondered if he fully understood that we were all there to celebrate him and his birthday. 

Well, while William was eating his birthday cake, he turned around and quietly said to me, “My birthday has come!”  I responded back with a big smile, “Yes, buddy, that's right.  Your birthday has come.”

That was such a special moment because it helped me to see that William had recognized his blessing.

There are so many times when God blesses me with something awesome, but unlike William, I fail to see it as a blessing.  Like with this blog, for example.  God has given me the desire to create and maintain this blog.  He also gave me the courage to share two of my original songs on here.  Up until now though, I haven't recognized those things as blessings. 

Instead, I’ve been wondering about all of the other things that I still want to accomplish, such as what is my next song going to be, or will I ever have enough songs to make an album?  I've spent so much time focusing on all of the things that I have not accomplished that I've forgotten to celebrate the things that I have accomplished. 

Everything that God has allowed me to do with the blog, so far, has been an incredible blessing.  And, thanks to my three-year-old son, I am learning to say, "My blessing has come!"