Power in Love

God is faithful to daily remind me of His multidimensional character.

Today, I am reminded of His power.

God fights for His people.

Because He loves His people.

He works daily unique miracles for His people.

God is For His people.

{At that time Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord gave the Amorites over to the sons of Israel, 

and he said in the sight of Israel,

"Sun, stand still at Gibeon,

and moon, in the Valley of Aijalon."

And the sun stood still, and the moon stopped.

until the nation took vengeance on their enemies.

Is this not written in the Book of Jashar? 

The sun stopped in the midst of heaven and did not hurry to set for about a whole day. 

There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, 

for the Lord fought for Israel.}

Joshua 10:12-14

As I read this, a familiar Kari Jobe song came on that has become an anthem for my life.

And I prayed this prayer to the God of Heaven and Earth:

Lord, you are so faithful, so constant, so loving and so true.

You are so powerful in all you do.

You are so patient, so gracious, so merciful and true.

You are wonderful in all you do.

You fill me, you see me, you know my every move.

And you love for me to sing to you.

I know that you are FOR me,

and I know that you will never forsake me in my weakness.

I know that you have come now, even if to write upon my heart to remind me who you are.

In this moment

God tends to use music to speak to me.
Last night, He gave me a song with a verse.
I'm thankful for those times.


This morning, 
I'm thankful for this verse:

"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty."

Psalm 91:1

and this song:

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home

Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

You can listen here.

Free to be me

My good friend gave me a homemade CD of some of her favorites for my birthday this past week.

As I began to listen, the first song's lyrics stood out to me.

God used a song to remind me of his love for me.

He created me uniquely for a purpose... which I am still discovering.

In the midst of a list of faults, He is still True.

May this bring you joy today!

{a few highlights}

Sometimes I believe that I can do anything

Yet other times I think I've got nothing good to bring

But You look at my heart and You tell me 

That I've got all You seek 

And it’s easy to believe

Even though I got a couple dents in my fender

Got a couple rips in my jeans

Try to fit the pieces together 

But perfection is my enemy

On my own I'm so clumsy

But on Your shoulders I can see

I'm free to be me

{the music video}

Happy weekend :)

You hear

I'm loving quite a few of Tricia's songs lately,
but this one in particular has been speaking to me.

From silent rooms and heavy hearts
From city streets where all is dark
Each lifted cry our sin and want
You hear, oh You hear

From burdens weighty with regret
And sorrows we can not forget
You turn our tears to holiness
When You hear, oh You hear

And the truth remains
That the Love who saves
Is the one who hears, oh You hear
And the power will be 
Not in those who speak but in Him who hears
Oh, You hear

We lower in the weak and lame
The blind are given sight again
And so we're bound no more by shame
Because You hear

And from the weight of mercy's cross
You whispered words that saved us all
So love could be the only song
You hear, oh You hear

And the truth remains
That the Love who saves
Is the one who hears, oh You hear
And the power will be 
Not in those who speak but in Him who hears
You hear

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."

1 John 5:14

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray

and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, 

then I will hear from heaven, 

and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 

2 Chronicles 7:14

Freedom isn't free

Remembering our many 

service men and women 

who protect our nation

so we can live freely.

Thankful for their sacrifice

and the sacrifice of their families.

Sneak Preview: I love Country

Anyone watching American Idol this round?

I've loved Scotty and Lauren from the get-go.

 

All I can say is, these two must be the top 2 this week.

But after I saw this, I think Scotty may have won my vote.

Why?

Because I love Josh Turner.

I love when people are surprised (in a good way).

I love when Christians take opportunities to profess their faith.

And because I love Country music.

{did you know that about me? a little tidbit :)}

Love this {super mature} kid's heart for the Lord, for people, and for wholesome country music.

Way to go, Scotty!

[Lauren... I'm still rooting for you too, girl!

You both rock and both will go far with your gifts of music :)]

Lead me to the Cross

Today on Good Friday, 

I remember.

[Jess-we had the same idea :)]

PS: please pray for my Poppa today. He is in the ICU after a heart attack last night.

Thankful for marriage

Dear J,

Thank you for coming home in such a great mood on Sunday and taking me to the Brig to celebrate a rainy date night, and for introducing me to clam chowder and fish tacos. I never knew how fun seafood could be! This is becoming quite the routine ;)

Thank you for offering to go to the grocery store for me yesterday... and then picking me up on the way when I found out you were going to Target and begged you to take me with you. And for waiting patiently while I took a picture in the middle of the parking lot of the sunset... and later you let me choose coffee which took me forEVER. And then buying me pink shorts to support my ambitions. And smelling candles with me. And making eight circles looking for dish drainers... Target trips with you are seriously the best. [I swear that store markets directly to me!!!!]

Thank you for encouraging me when I had my little breakdown about work and life... your hugs and encouragement makes anything seem possible.

Thank you for being so stinking talented and worshipping with me last night. You are the best guitar player in the world (in my humble not-biased-at-all opinion) and I love watching and listening to you do your thing. Just one of the [more shallow but amazing] reasons I fell in love with five years ago. I love even more putting you and me together for Jesus. Definitely way better than the Bachelor. [and we have DVR...]

Thank you for feeding the puppies every single morning without fail so I don't have to wake up so early.

Thank you for coming to Bible study with me and being excited about it. I'm so thankful you have found such great friends to fellowship with.

Thank you for your daily text messages to say you miss me. I like that you miss me on a daily basis when we're not together... because I miss you too. Good thing we're married!

Thank you for your hugs, your laugh, your encouragement, your quesadillas, your friendship and your love.

Your heart blesses me, your faith inspires me, your perspective refreshes me, and your love overwhelms me.

I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

your crazy adoring wife :)

God's voice made clear

Tonight, I'm thankful for this simple yet powerful verse a friend reminded me of:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, 

and do not lean on your own understanding. 

In all your ways acknowledge him, 

and he will make straight your paths."

Prov 3:5-6

I'm also thankful for this simple reminder, in a song by Keith and Kristyn Getty.

It's truly one of my favorites.

You can hear it here.
It's even their opening song on their website.
A few lyrics to "Still, my Soul be Still:"
   
Still my soul be still
And do not fear

Though winds of change may rage tomorrow

 God is at your side 

No longer dread 

The fires of unexpected sorrow  

God You are my God 

And I will trust in You and not be shaken 

Lord of peace renew 

A steadfast spirit within me 

To rest in You alone

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days.

Thanksgiving recap to come.

I've been trying to rest up and regain the voice I lost in time for work tomorrow.
Your prayers are appreciated :)

I like the sound of Nashville...

I'm a blog stalker. I admit it. I follow complete strangers' thoughts, photos, twitters, and lives. And I talk about them like we're friends.

Like Layla. Layla's mom started a foundation, I'm so proud of her.

And Daisy. Prayers are working for this little girl, let me tell you.

And Matt. It's his wife's birthday today. Happy birthday Sarah! They just had a little boy with a congenital heart problem, so they are spending a lot of time in the hospital.

And Calee and Kristina. I totally get them. Cutest sisters ever. (not including my sister and I of course).

And Stephanie. 80% of her body was burned in a bad plane crash two years ago. But she keeps going!

 And Carly. Oh wait... I actually DO know her. She's the sister mentioned above. :)

And Jasmine. She seriously is one of the funniest and inspiring people I 'know'.

And Jasmine's twin sister, Bianca. Who just got married. To Matt. Who I follow also.

And lots of others... but I think this is enough for now.

Anyways... Bianca's blog today resonated with me.

She talks about praying before meals. Which I love, and we do. And how sometimes people give her the 'funny' look here in LA (or in my case, San Diego... although I honestly don't think people pay any attention most of the time). But she's in Nashville right now, and apparently, everyone prays before they eat there!

I think I wanna make a visit to Nashville.
To see what that type of community is like.

Although I'd be lying if I didn't say a huge perk would be the singers.
I love me some country.
After all, the Keith Urban concert was my first date with John. [at least, officially] :)

Happy Thursday!

Oh Christmas tree

We got our Christmas tree last Saturday. The first Saturday in December. Christmas tree day! I woke up in the best mood... because Christmas was coming.

We picked out the perfect tree. (we thought).
Loaded it in the explorer. Gosh I love SUVs. More and more.
And headed home. It was the perfect weather for Christmas tree shopping, Christmas decorating, coffee drinking, Christmas music listening and singing, and family hanging.
I love wreaths. I love to have something on the door that welcomes people and says, this home celebrates Christmas.And then to walk in and immediately the spirit of the season fills the home.
Emma and Luigi's stockings.
And Luigi's special decoration. He loves it ;-)
Why, of course we got Starbucks in Christmas cups to drink while we listened to Christmas music and decorated and wrapped presents.
Lights on our balcony. I really really love Christmas lights.
I love Christmas. And I love my husband.
And now we can enjoy the specialness of this season, complete with a fresh Christmas tree. Thank you Lord for coming, so that we can celebrate the joy of Christmas.
Looking forward to your birthday, Jesus.

Simple thoughts on this lazy Saturday

Some would say my life is boring. I go to school, and I come home. John goes to work, and comes home. We eat. We hang out. We take Emma for a walk. And we go to bed. And I mean, I get tired early, like, by 9pm. I usually can hold out until 11 (J's such a late nighter ;). And I feel like I'm living. Some people are just getting started at 11pm.

But I love our simple life. I love our modest home and our psychotic puppy and my sweet, mellow husband. I don't mind going to school (I mean, J and I would definitely prefer just not to work or go to school at all, but this works). I don't mind that my excitement for the day may be getting Starbucks with J, taking Emma for a walk, and giving her a bath. That's how today started. J and I leashed our little Bigs up and took her to the park. But first, J ran into the little coffee shop down the street and got us a couple frappuccinos. (ps...they raised their prices. ahhhh). And Emma waited for him patiently.
Then we went to the park. And Emma actually played with the other dogs. We were so proud. She's usually more interested in the ball she found within the first 10 seconds of us being there.
It didn't last long though. She took her ball and staked out a tree and she was happy.
When we got home, we filled the bath, plopped her in, and scrubbed her up. She's definitely getting better at that. She stands still in the tub. And she is so happy when she's clean.
We went to dinner. Olive Garden salad and appetizer. Some might say Olive Garden is boring. Not me. I am always content with Olive Garden. I am thankful we are able to do things like go out to dinner. Yah yah, it's not the "healthiest" thing in the world. It's so good though.
And then we went to Guitar Center. This is common for us, to go walk around a store after Olive Garden. I have become quite the Grossmont Center We usually go to Target and walk around and come up with something we need, like shaving cream or highlighters. Today we went to Guitar Center and J played the pianos. And found his favorite set-up. One day we will have a keyboard by our iMac between our two big yellow speakers, and J will record some beautiful music. Because truly, he is one of the most gifted people. He taught himself how to play piano. That is amazing to me. For now, we have the guitars and that is great. But one day we will have a piano again. For now, we will visit Guitar Center. :)
I really love my family and my home and my life. I am so blessed. We end most evenings with House episodes. And Emma on my or J's lap. And then we get ready for bed. Some say it is boring. I say, it is the best.