September 2019 – Daughter of the King

Sing Along

Yesterday, as I drove to church in Edwardsville, where I am serving as an intern this fall, this song came up on my “Worship Girls Playlist.” This is one of my playlists that I often put on shuffle to see what God might have to say to me through music that I love.

I was singing along. Loudly. Joyfully. Passionately.

And on the way home, I had to listen to it again.

It reminds me of this verse that I love for the picture of God that it offers:

The Lord your God is with you,
    the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
    in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
    but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

With the turmoil, division, disasters, marginalization, and so many other hurts and dashed hopes that we are seeing in our world today, it is easy to think that God is far away and doesn’t care, or just won’t act. But that is so not true! God created this world and all that is in it, and called it GOOD! Yes, people have marred that good creation, but never has God stopped loving and caring for us. He loves us. He rejoices over us with singing. And we have the opportunity, and dare I say responsibility, to sing along and participate in God’s work in the world.

There is no song greater, no purpose higher, than God’s. I think I will sing along. Will you join me?

Sing Along
Songwriters: Christa Joy Black / Christy Nockels / Jason Ingram / Jesse Reeves / Nathan Nockels
Sing Along lyrics © Essential Music Publishing, Bethel Music Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group

From babies hidden in the shadows
To the cities shining bright
There are captives weeping
Far from sight
For every doorway has a story
And some are holding back the cries
But there is one who hears us in the night

Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
So we can join in your song
And sing along yeah,
We’ll sing along

From the farthest corners of the earth
Still his mercy reaches
Even to the pain we cannot see
And even through the darkness
There’s a promise that will keep us
There is one who came to set us free

Great God
Wrap Your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
So we can join in your song
And sing along, yeah
We’ll sing along

So let your song rise
And fill up the earth
Let your hope ring out
Let your heart be heard
So let your song rise
And fill up the earth
Let your hope ring out
Let your heart be heard

Oh, great God
Wrap Your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
And we will join in your song
And sing along, yeah
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along

Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
And we will join in your song
And sing along
We’ll sing along

Great God
Wrap your arms around this world tonight
Around the world tonight
And when you hear our cries
Sing through the night
And we will join in your song
And sing along
We’ll sing along
Yeah
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along
We’ll sing along

Still on My Mind

Gratitude. I wrote about it last week, and here I am writing about it again. Maybe that is because this is my word right now and it is on my mind consistently. Or maybe it is because I am in the middle of writing Thank You notes to all of the 2019 Vine to Wine 1/2 Marathon and 5K sponsors. Either way, it is not a bad thing for it to still be on my mind.

Today, though, I want to take a little different view and ask this question: how often do you tell people that you are grateful for them or that you appreciate one of their attributes or something that they do?

It is one thing to keep a gratitude journal and express our thankfulness to God for the various ways in which we have been blessed, and even to write down someone’s name or action in your journal as a way of thanking God for them, but it is quite another to actually verbalize to a person how grateful you are for them. And I think that this is something that is sorely missing in our world right now.

We are quick to point out when we don’t like something, when we are frustrated with someone, when someone’s beliefs don’t match with our own. What if we were as quick to point out the good stuff? And more than just a simple, “Thank You,” (but even that would be welcomed). A real, heartfelt moment of face-to-face gratitude. How different would the world be if that were our default? Even simple things like instead of saying, “I’m sorry for being late,” saying, “Thank you for being patient with me. I truly appreciate it.”

Since I didn’t get my Monday post up (again) this week, I am adding a song that expresses this idea. Maybe there is someone in your life that needs to hear this from you. No matter what, let’s work on this gratitude thing together, both expressing it to God and to those that surround us with love and grace.

More Than You’ll Ever Know
Watermark (Nathan & Christy Nockels)

Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it’s okay to cry with you

Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I’ve been near God
And that’s the way it ought to be, yeah

‘Cause you’ve been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
‘Cause you’ve spoken the truth over my life
And you’ll never know what it means to me
Just to know you’ve been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you’ll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn’t think I could find the strength to sing

And all the while I’m hoping that I’ll
Do the kind of praying for you that you’ve done for me
And that’s the way it ought to be

You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn’t your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold, oh yeah, a hundredfold, oh yeah

One in a Row

So, life has been a bit of a crap shoot lately when it comes to consistent exercise of any kind. Funny how three years of seminary can do that to a person. Exhaustion, health stuff, homework, and everything else have gotten in the way more often than I want to discuss.

BUT, since finishing seminary, I have been working harder at being consistent. Sometimes successfully, and sometimes not, but at least I am trying, right?!

PiYo will always be my soul-mate workout, but running will always be my first love. Ever since my meniscus surgery five years ago, I have been scared to do too much running for fear of another injury. Well, that and my favorite half marathon falls on the same weekend as prom here in Greenville, which my daughter has attended the last two years, so I haven’t had that race to work toward.

Image result for slower than a herd of turtles

In 2020, I don’t have a kid going to prom so I am thinking that it is time to do the Mini Indy again!

But that means I have to start running again. Regularly. And based on my life, that means I have to get up at the butt-crack of dawn, (or pre-butt crack as one of my friends calls it) which is 5:00 a.m., to run. And let’s just say, I have grown accustomed to sleeping until much later in the morning.

I used to get up even earlier than 5:00 am to go run. I even remember a 2:30 Sunday morning wake-up for a 3:00 am long run when we were training for the Goofy. (BTW – Sunday early morning runs are the BEST because there is NO ONE out and about so you don’t have to worry about getting hit by a car, AND you get to see beautiful sunrises.)

I made a plan. I like my plan. It takes my training right up to 1/2 marathon week. The problem is executing the plan and actually getting out of bed at 5:00 a.m. when the alarm goes off AND staying awake through the entire day that is filled with various activities that require my being awake.

After three failed attempts this week, yesterday, with the help of a 2nd alarm, I did it! I got up! I ran! I felt great! The weather was perfect! I remembered why I love running!

But, as my life goes, yesterday was a VERY long day (a good one that included baby snuggles), and today, no such rising with the alarm.

Trisha Yearwood has a song called “One in a Row.” It has nothing to do with running, but I keep singing part of the chorus in my head: “That makes one in a row, one in a row, one in a row. One in a row.” At this point in my life I am taking one in a row as a good thing, a start, and the hope of two in a row coming very soon.

No matter what it is that you are working toward – an exercise routine, a meal-prep plan, a degree, not strangling your children, getting out of bed in the morning, reading a book, or some other challenge, I offer you this word of hope today – every time you accomplish even the smallest of tasks, give yourself a pat on the back for getting one in a row. And then do the same thing tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.

As for me, I am going to keep on pushing toward my goal of completing half-marathon number 16 in May 2020, and celebrating every one in a row that I can count.

What We Need

“2019 has been a rough year for me,” is the nice version of what I have been saying about this year that has brought with it many challenges.

There’s just one problem with this statement: 2019 hasn’t ONLY brought challenges! 2019 has also brought with it celebrations, vacations, girls trips, lake days, family time, laughter and so much more.

And yet, my focus has been on anything but these positive pieces of the year.

Why is that? Why do we tend to focus on the bad/hard/frustrating stuff instead of the good/uplifting/amazing stuff?

I think it is because we have allowed ourselves to be conditioned to see everything in black (bad) and white (good), AND we have allowed ourselves to fall into the complaining trap.

Remember Thumper from Bambi?

“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all.”

We tend to think about what Thumper’s mother taught him in terms of what we say to others, which is a good practice to have. But what we say to OURSELVES is just as important!

When we consistently tell ourselves that 2019 has been a crappy year, guess what? 2019 is going to look like a crappy year because we are focused on the crappy stuff that we have had to go through. BUT, if we were to change that narrative to say there have been some struggles in 2019, as there are in any year, but there have been some REALLY GOOD things this year that have brought me joy, how might our entire outlook on the year change?

I was reminded of this (AGAIN – it takes time for me to learn stuff sometimes) in a conversation I had last week. And as a result of that conversation, I pulled out my Gratitude Journal that I started a few years ago, while reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

I had made it to 300 before the journal got buried underneath other stuff in my Contemplative Corner, which is a pretty good picture of what had happened in my life lately. I had let the stuff of life cover over my gratitude.

So on Friday afternoon last week, I laid outside in my hammock, listening to the sounds of nature and community, and over the course of an hour or so I added 50 more items to my list. And you know what happened by doing that one action? I felt my heart shift. I felt my eyes begin to see things in a fresh light (again). I found myself looking for things for which I am thankful. I found myself grabbing that Gratitude Journal and adding to the list almost daily.

When we choose to focus on gratitude, it becomes almost impossible to complain. You know why? Because we don’t see the things to complain about, we only see things for which we are grateful. It’s all about our FOCUS!

I Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing,give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” and Psalm 118:29 (along with MANY other places) says, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

When we FOCUS on giving thanks IN every circumstance (note: this is NOT giving thanks FOR every circumstance), and we recognize the goodness and the love of God that endures forever (despite whatever circumstances we are facing), our outlook can’t help but be one of thanksgiving and gratitude.

And the more we are grateful, the more we see for which to be grateful, which makes us more grateful, and so on, and so on. It’s kind of like a gratitude snowball that keeps building and building as it goes.

I know it is Wednesday, and Mondays are usually the music days, but since I didn’t get a blog up on Monday, you get a twofer today. This song says it beautifully. So take a listen and then take a few minutes to write down some stuff for which you are thankful. It’s what we all need.

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