worship.

"worship in the chaos of life."

this might be my new favorite quote.

it came from our message at church on sunday from a series called "the most powerful thing we do".

when i heard it, i wanted to shout out "YES!!"

it resonated deep within me because this is something that i do!

i know i've mentioned it before, but i love music.

and music of the worship variety...my absolute favorite. 

there's nothing like turning on music that uplifts & encourages & comforts & allowing it to flood my heart & soul with truth.


i'd like to share with you some of the songs that i use to "worship in the chaos of life".

in those times when i need comforted, when i need to feel the Father's touch, i listen to this:

i love this song because i hear the Father so clearly inviting me into His arms.
to rest in the palm of His hand.
to find shelter in His wings.


there's also this one:

{please excuse the not so great video, there weren't a lot of choices for this one}

"i'm the only one who knows your heart's desries"
"and i know you through and through, there's no need to hide" 
these lines remind me that i am known by Him.
He knows me better than i know myself.


for the times i need to be reminded of God's faithfulness, i might choose this one:

"oh, my God He will not delay"
He ALWAYS shows up on time & i can always trust Him to do so!

when fear sets in,  i like this one: 

and sometimes, when i just don't have the words, this is a great one:

sometimes it's enough to just thank Him for the cross & His sacrifice.
to be reminded that He gives Amazing Grace each & every day.
and that because of the scars He bears, i have been given hope.

and when i just want to celebrate, i might choose this one:

i just LOVE this song!
this is one of those songs that i can't help but to belt out! 

seriously, i could go on & on!
a song for every occasion, but i'm pretty sure you get the idea!


worshiping in the chaos of life to me means facing the mess & the trials & the busyness & the craziness with hope in the One who has defeated the grave and allowing Him to reign in that chaos.

recently i read this & wanted to share it with you:

"Singing cheerful songs of blessing and glory and grace is an act that is good and right and often timely. But there is beautiful worship for all of us in recounting:
These are my afflictions. This is my God. He has the right to use my life how He deems and I will not respond as one who knows no hope. No matter the trial, I will not be prevailed upon. I will respond as a daughter who counts it an honor to identify with my Savior in suffering and sacrifice. When you pass by me, in any season, you can be certain that the blessing of the Lord is upon me."
   {SheReadsTruth}

this is what i aspire to be able to proclaim!

what about you?
what are some of your favorite songs to worship to in the chaos of life?

insta{week}

So remember when I said I was feeling better & ready to tackle it all?

Yeah, I probably didn't say exactly that, but I really did think I was better. 

I was wrong.

This week I developed a sinus infection.

And talk about pain! It felt like my head was being crushed in a vice, and the only way to relieve the pain was to counter the pressure with more pressure.

Problem is, it's not really conducive to getting a whole lot done when you're walking around with your palms squeezing your face in. 

So I broke down & went to the doctor. 

I think I am on the mend now. 

{fingers crossed, prayers said}

Good news is Eli is definitely better & Mike is still healthy!

And now....

1. Goodbye, Christmas. Sad to be putting all this away, but ready to redecorate!

2. Eli's new crockpot recipe.

3. New earrings from hubby. You can find them here.

4. Downward dog baby style.

5. Single serving cookie in a cup. Will be posting a recipe this week!

6. Sweetness is my baby's foot always touching me while we eat.

7. Sweetness is also baby butt cracks.

8.  A "kind of" date with the hubs to a Children's Ministry workshop.

9.  Finally getting around to reading this & excited about what God will teach me through it.

Saturday night was one of those nights when we just had to get out of the house.

You know those times?

When kiddo wakes up early from a nap, eats dinner in 5 minutes & we still have 3 hours until bedtime. 

Those times.

So I took my little man on a date. He insisted we go to Sweet Frog. 

He can be very convincing.

So we get our yogurt, get up to the register to pay & omgoodness, my wallet is not in my purse!

I realized in that moment that I left my wallet sit on the counter at Hallmark where we had just been to buy some cards.

Ugh! 

Thankfully they had turned it into the mall office & all was safe. 

And we could go back to enjoy our yogurt date. 

Of the many, many things I love about this boy, one is that he loves music & dancing. 

We often have music on, just playing as the soundtrack to our everyday.

And many times, we just dance. 

And it's one of my favorite things. 

To end this post, I'll leave you with this thought.

Isn't it the truth?

What Mary said.

Now that the holidays are quickly approaching, you know you can't turn on the radio without hearing the most wonderful tunes of all. 

A little "Jingle Bell Rock", "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", "O Holy Night". 

Christmas music.  

I do love Christmas music, 

though I will share with you two songs that I CANNOT STAND:

Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmas Time"

&

"Christmas Wrapping" by the Waitresses

{totally had to look that up because I really had no idea who it was}

 Worst.Christmas.Songs.EVER.

 Well, the other day I was in the car heading over to Lowe's to get paint & singing along to the tunes playing in the car when one song just hit me over the head.  

Did you ever have a moment like that when you hear something or even read something 1000 times & for some reason in that 1001 time, it just strikes you as something you've never heard of or thought about before?

Ok, well this was like that.

The song was "A Baby Changes Everything" by Faith Hill.

I've definitely heard this song countless times at Christmas, but for some reason, hearing it the other day really hit me & I was fighting the tears back.

{only because my dad was in the car with me & I just didn't feel like having to explain why heading to Lowe's was causing such an outpouring of emotion.}

I know I heard this song last year & Eli was 3 months old, but I think I was still too much in that "new baby" fog to really think about this song.
But on this day I started thinking about Mary & the implications of her pregnancy.

The thoughts that must have been running through her head. 

Humbled, honored, confused, scared, joyful, maybe even embarrassed. 

But she had to have known that this baby would be The One. 

This would be the Messiah they had been waiting for & she would've known what the Old Testament prophesied:

Jesus Christ would be hated without reason.

Jesus Christ would be rejected by the Jewish people.

Jesus Christ would be plotted against by Jewish people and the Gentiles together.

Jesus Christ would be betrayed by a friend.

Jesus Christ would be betrayed for 30 pieces of silver.

Jesus Christ would be forsaken by His flock.

Jesus Christ the shepherd would be struck.

Jesus Christ would be spat on.

Jesus Christ would be mocked.

Jesus Christ would be beaten.

Jesus Christ would be executed by Crucifixion, having His hands and feet pierced.

 {source}

 If you're a parent, if you're a mom, can you imagine?

Knowing you will be bringing a child into the world to face this.

As parents, it's our job to protect our kids, not lead them into the face of danger. 

But Mary, do you know what she said? 

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” 

{Luke 1:38}

and

“My soul glorifies the Lord 

     and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 

 for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant."

{Luke 1:47-48} 

I think my favorite part of this last statement is 

"for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant".   

She completely, 100%, without a shadow of a doubt, trusted His Sovereignty.

She knew she was just a nobody in the grand scheme of things, but trusted Him to do whatever He wanted with her because she loved Him.  

It didn't matter that she would have to go explain to her fiance, that she had not so much as touched, that she was going to be having a baby & she already had a name picked out.

It didn't matter that people would most definitely be pointing & talking behind her back. 

Not to mention she was young! Just a teenager.  

 But then she also knew that:

Jesus Christ's death would atone for the sins of mankind.

Jesus Christ would ascend to the right hand of God.

Jesus Christ would exercise His Priestly Office in Heaven.

{source}

And she would play a part in the greatest part of history ever. 

Until then, she would welcome a tiny baby into the world.

She would hold him, feed him, play with him, kiss his boo-boos, 

encourage him, teach him, scold him, nurture him, protect him, pray with him.

She would be there for every first moment and watch him grow 

until her baby became the man that would change everything.

{you knew i would share this, right??}

 

i could

have you ever been afraid to pray for something because you know God could use that prayer to cause major waves in your current calm?
i'm in a place like that right now.

i just finished a study on Philippians with She Reads Truth which was phenomenal!!
i've read through this book before, heard sermons on it, but this was like reading it with brand new eyes.
{something i've been praying for for a long time}
paul was just an amazing man.
that's it.
that's all there is to it.
amazing.

how many people do you know that could write a letter from jail to encourage & love on people for the sake of Christ?

there was one verse that stuck out to me:
"...for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances."
{Phil. 4:11}

after reading this, i thought, Lord, i want this to be my prayer.
but then i retracted that statement.
i was afraid!
what would this mean?
how would God shake up our world to make this be a true statement?
what will i have to sacrifice?
i don't know if i'm ready to be shaken.

then today i came across this song:

i could just sit where i am.
i could just play it safe.
i could allow fear to dictate my next move.
i could miss out though.
i could miss what wonderful things God has in store for me.
i could miss out on a transformation that draws me closer to Him & who He wants me to be.

but what i long for is to go higher and to go deeper.
i long to go where He leads me.
for His mercy light my path.