May 4, 2011

Psalm 94

Arise, O Lord, Judge of the earth

How long will the wicked reign?

How long will the evil ones

Crush your people with disdain.

The Lord God is not deaf

He is able to speak.

He is able to see. the wicked

He will raise up the weak.

Teach us your ways, O, Lord,

Give us in troubled times, your relief

Protect us from the wicked ones

Deliver us from their grinding grief.

You are my Rock and Fortress

In You, we will ever hide

Your strength erases our doubts

And brings us hope, deep and wide.

May 3, 2011

Great Are You, Lord

As the mighty waters

Thunder in their banks

Lord, I give you thanks,

Great are You, Lord.

You are mightier than all

The mighty breakers on the shore

Oh, Your Majesty, it is You I adore.

Great are You, Lord.

How I sing your praises

Help me to follow your way

To trust in faith, and only you obey

Great are You, Lord.

Your reign, Lord, is forever

Your royal laws cannot be changed

I obey, and not be estranged

Great are You, Lord.

April 27, 2011

Psalm 91

Praise

You are my Rock, You are my Rock,

You are my Fortress

You are my Light, You are my Light

You are my salvation

I'm trust You, I'm trusting you,

You are my God!

I hide in the shelter,

In the shelter of your Presence.

You keep me safe from the enemy

Because of your love for me.

How great is your goodness

And the mighty works of your hand

When your final trumpet sounds

In You I will ever stand.

I delight in the Lord

I sing praises to the Mighty King

I sing with joy and thankfulness

Until all heaven rings.

April 27, 2011

Psalm 92

Worship

What is Worship?

What is praise in song?

What is thankfulness?

What is right or wrong?

I praise you, Lord

You lift my heart in joy

When I see your works

That man cannot destroy

I praise you, Lord

In the morning light

I proclaim your love

And faithfulness at night.

I praise you, Lord,

Exalted one forever

You are my Rock

My song forever.

April 16, 2011

He is Alive

He is alive

My Lord and King

He is alive!

Praise Him and Sing

He is alive!

He's my ev'ry thing!

When sleep eludes me

and words capture sleep

I awake with praise

Pray His love to keep.

The night hours fly by

And I know not why

My heart lifts up prayer

In your presence, I cry.

The sun will soon rise

Rubbing my sleepy eyes

My heart cries, Amen

Let His praise arise.

The earth stirs with joy.

Mountains will sing

Trees dance in the breeze

I'm praising Jesus the King.

March 28, 2011

Glory

I sing glory, glory, glory

To your name

I sing glory, glory, glory,

You're ever the same.

Yes, Lord, I hear your voice,

Yes, Lord, in you, I rejoice.

The heavens proclaim

Your glorious name

Day after day I see you

Night after night, You are new.

March 15, 2011

What Time Is It?

What time is it?

I asked the nurse

As the pain dug deep

The time seemed perverse.

What time is it?

I asked, as I waited

To hear how my child fared

And the illness is routed.

What time is it?

As the minister speaks.

I look at my watch and wonder

If it has been weeks.

What time is it?

My slowing walk and

I know what time it is

Time to walk the talk.

What time is it?

My heart begins to slow

I hear angels singing

It's God- time I know.

3/13/11

Prayer is....

...knowing that God is real

...to see His power

...to praise His name

...to know He is dear.

Prayer is....

...trusting and believing

...asking for guidance

...placing my Hand in His

...and knowing His fragrance.

Prayer is...

....living hope that is ours

....to know that He hears

...and know He answers

...having faith until He appears.

Expectation Living

April 2, 2011

Psalm 121

I look into the forever
I look into His face
He is my help
In All His Ways.

He doesn't let me stumble
He doesn't let me fall
Always He watches
And doesn't sleep at all.

The Lord is my shade
At His right hand
I do not fear
For He is always near.

He engraves my name
On the palm of His hand
The sun shall not blind me
In the moonlight, He sings over me.

Forever - Forever!
God watches over me.
Forever - Forever!
Farther than I can see.
Forever - Forever!
Now and for an eternity!

Wrritten at the 2011 RCC Retreat by Heather, Katie, Belva and Emily

March 15, 2011

Prayer is....

...knowing that God is real

...to see His power

...to praise His name

...to know He is dear.

Prayer is....

...trusting and believing

...asking for guidance

...placing my Hand in His

...and knowing His fragrance.

Prayer is...

....living hope that is ours

....to know that He hears

...and know He answers

...having faith until He appears.

March 8, 2011

Expectation Living

Who writes the expectations
That fill my heart each day?
Who holds the pen that writes
Frustration in a myriad of ways?

The names are Confusion Chaos
And Confounding Commotion
That fill my every moment with
Increasing defeat and frustration.

From the depths of despair
I raise longing eyes to You
“Lord, write on my heart your message
Of eternal expectations true.”

Fill my heart and my mind
That Jesus is Lord of all
So world expectations will dim
And all I hear is your sweet call.

February Thoughts

Who Is Jesus?

Galatians 5:22-23 -

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Who is Jesus? My Savior

He's the Shepherd, Lord and King

He's the Prince of Peace, my Shield

He's the love song that I sing.

How can I ever praise Him?

No matter the trouble I see,

No matter what circumstance,

I love Him, He set me free.

I lift my heart to you,

I lift up my hands

To the Shepherd, Lord and King

His faithfulness ever stands.

Sing a song of kindness,

Sing a song of faithfulness

In patience I will rest

Jesus is my gentleness.

He's my over-flowing joy

His glorious peace is mine

He gives me self-control

He's the love and joy I find.

HOPE (2/8)

Psalm 37:3-4 -

Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴ Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Colossians 1:27 -

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Psalm 33:20-21 -

We wait in hope for the LORD;

he is our help and our shield.

²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,

for we trust in his holy name

But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

.I Peter 1:20 - 21 -

He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

My hope is in you, O Lord

I trust your Holy Name

Your love never fails

You are ever the same.

You are my help

You are my shield

In You I find wisdom

To You I ever yield.

The desires of my heart

I receive day and night

For it is in You

I ever will delight.

He Cares (2/6/11)

Psalm 31:7 -

I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

for you saw my affliction

and knew the anguish of my soul.

Psalm 121:8 -

the LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

I Peter 5:7 -

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

The Lord watches over you

He watches over me

Forever more He watches

He knows, He cares and sees.

I give Him all my troubles

I give Him all my cares

For evermore He watches

He wipes away my tears.

He know my anguish

He knows my sorrow

I know He ever cares

He knows my tomorrows!

RESTING (2/3/11)
Psalm 91:1 - Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty
Psalm 90:12 - Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 23:2 - He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

In the shadow of the Lord, I rest.
In His love, I am blessed
He leads me beside still waters
His name I praise and profess!

Teach me your great wisdom
And your grace so winsome
From sin, give me freedom
Mere men will never fathom.

Without you, my days are few
Without you, there's no virtue
With you, forever is truly new
Each day I'm resting in you.

2011 - God's Promises in January

Psalm 84:10-11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Ephesians 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Blessings

Count your many blessings, the words ring
As a child, I heard the people sing
A blessing of love, a blessing of giving
Makes our life on earth worth the living.

A blessing here, a blessing there
Turns a cloudy day into a day so fair.
Trusting Jesus is the way you know
To be blessed and in Him to grow.

Is a spiritual blessing ever out-grown?
Does it rust, or is it just a loan?
No, a blessing is celebrated heaven-wide.
For the Lord, our shield, walks by our side.

Hebrews 4:12 -

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

The Bible Tells Me So

The most precious words I hear.

Come from the Blessed Book

No matter where I look

The words are sharp and clear.

Jesus loves me, this I know.

He stays right by my side.

In His Heart I will abide.

His words He does bestow

Yes, Jesus loves me

Every day, in every way

His truth and love it conveys

I read it in His Book, you see

.

His Words bring me hope and life

Dividing the spirit and the soul

His words make me whole.

And pierce me like a knife.

Jesus loves you and me

He touches us with His glory

Let me tell you the story

How His love sets us free.

Romans 12:4-5-
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Belonging

I searched far and near
For a place to belong.
Bereft and lonely, I cried
So still, hear heard lost its song.

Then I met Jesus, Lord and King
He gave me a song to sing
Of hope, joy and love
He became my Everything.

Now I belong to Jesus,
I am a part of one body.
I belong to you, you belong to me.
IN Jesus we are each - somebody!

1/17/11

John 10:28-29 -

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Everlasting Assurance

A baby nestles against his mother's face
Secure and loved in his special place.
Nothing like love's assurance
Unconditional love has its own fragrance.

A fragrance that lasts through the ages
Spoken of by ancestral sages
A child may leave that tender time
Life loses its rhythm and rhyme.

Just as the love of our Father Lord
Creates a place where we are adored
Our Father Lord promises this day
That we cannot be snatched away.

1/16/11

Winter Woods

The trees stand in the grey of the night

Singing a mournful melody, sad, yet sweet

Of the Christ crucified in their sight.

The trees bowed their heads in defeat.

On the third day, their eyes beheld Jesus arise.

He ascended into the skies, into Heaven.

The trees lifted their heads and opened their eyes.

To catch one more glimpse of the One without Sin.

Let the trees tell their story in the whispering wind

Listen to them tell of their Creator and His Might

He created the universe as time did begin.

The trees stand waiting until He returns to their sight.

(Written in response to the song by Ron Pennington)

1/12/11

Anger

Psalm 39;5 - Proverbs 15:1

Anger lurks inside waiting

When my defenses are low

Then grabs my heart

And sets me aglow.

My world begins to be on fire

From the inside out.

Then I act and yell

Leaving no doubt.

In Jesus, I find His Joy

My anger dissolves in peace

And as I learn to forgive

In me, His grace will increase.

For harsh words and looks

Makes one's temper fly

While a loving soft spirit

Bids Anger a swift goodbye.

1/9/11

I Cry out to You

Psalm 34:17 - Luke 19:40 - Psalm 55:17

My heart will not be still

For without you, I am not filled

You're my strength, I live in your will.

I cry out to you, Oh, Lord

In your mercy and grace

I look upon your face

Help me find You in this Place

I cry out to You, O, Lord.

Without you I am undone

I love you, God's Own Son

You are the Only One

I cry out to You, O Lord.

I am reaching out to You

Singing your praise so true.

Praise that is ever new.

I cry out to you, Oh, Lord.

1/7/2011

Angels

Psalm 34:7

Hebrews 13:2

Are angels around us today?

How do they communicate?

What do angels say?

As messengers of Yahweh.

Angels surround us day and night.

Guards that protect, not within sight

Angels who guard those of the light

Those who fear the Lord.

Without warning, without a sign

We may entertain angels divine

They may be strangers by design

But angels bring us God's message.

Angels all around us who do

God's bidding with virtue

Angels who major in rescue

Of mortals like me, it is true.