Archives For Surrender

Anchor [great listen]

August 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

this song just keeps resounding in my mind…

Anchor (Beautiful Eulogy featuring Josh Garrels)

Anchor of my soul, You sustain
When I’m in the storm You remain, good to me, good to me

When it’s a quarter past midnight, and the grey skies fade
to black. The waves splash and set me off track. So my vessel
might crash or collapse, when I’m attacked. And start
wrestling in my head with these bad memories from my past.
I’m aware of my guilt, overwhelmed and the smell of my
blood has the sharks that surround me cast under a spell.
They waited for me to fall but when I fell the water got
still. And the blood that was spilled protects me, it’s
the same blood that cleansed me. My only defense against
my nemesis, now I can rest knowing that nothing can come
against me unless the Father gives consent. Evil intentions
will not disturb God’s purposes or interfere so, who
shall I fear if my Anchor is secure? Learning to consider
it pure joy when I’m facing tribulations, praising God
instead of complaining or getting overtaken with bitterness.
Looking at the pages of the book of James and seeing
the ways that God works through the trials to make us more
mature in our faith. It reminds me how desperate I am in
this desert land, thirsty for your mercy and plan while you
give me the strength to stand. You’re my greatest pleasure,
yeah, no matter the weather I face, Lord you never forsake,
my fragile life is safe under your sovereign grace.

Continue Reading…

Pilot

August 11, 2012 — Leave a comment

We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it.

Proverbs 16:9 MSG


Training Journal – 8/11/12:

  • Current plan: Honolulu Marathon Training Plan
  • Today’s session: 10 miles…in the form of the Crystal Springs Trail Run in Woodside.
  • Comments: It was a great first trail run: 10.6 miles, Elevation Gain 1,890′, 1:49:02 @ 10:17/M.  Full report tomorrow.

Serves vs. Saves

July 10, 2012 — Leave a comment

Lord, you are the God who saves me; day and night I cry out to you.

– Psalm 88:1

I read that verse this morning and was hit by the fact that
I often replace the word ‘saves’ with ‘serves’ in my thinking…

…forgive me, Lord.


Training Journal – 7/10/12:

  • Current plan: Half-marathon program
  • Today’s session: 5 miles @ 9:09
  • Comments: I did 5.24 @ 8:13

I read this the other day and it hit me that we often see it incorrectly…

We read:

“…giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

Colossians 1:12 NIV

We often think:

“…giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has seen all the good things we do, understands the shortfalls we have, and recognizes that we are entitled and deserve to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

…forgive us me, oh God.


Training Journal – 12/23/11:

  • Current plan: 10K Training
  • Today’s session: Easy 5 mile run
  • Comments: Good run!  A brisk 34 degrees out, which gave me a chance to try my new beanie.  I was toasty: cold, shmold!

He Putteth Up

December 16, 2011 — Leave a comment

I read this the other day:

He put up with them through forty years of wandering in the wilderness.

– Acts 13:18 NLT

So glad He puts up with me too.  [thank You God!]

x

…Oh, and here’s a little hymn I wrote:

He putteth up with me
He putteth up with me
Just as He didst with Israel…and every other person He created
He putteth up with me

[cha, cha, cha!]


Training Journal – 12/16/11:

  • Current plan: 10K Training
  • Today’s session: Easy 4 mi run
  • Comments: Good run on another brisk morning.  After starting out a little fast, I remembered the “easy” part of the training day plan and slowed down…

Responsive Trust

November 14, 2011 — 1 Comment

Pastor John spoke a bit from Lamentations 3 yesterday in church…

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,
   the bitterness and the gall.
20 I well remember them,
   and my soul is downcast within me.
21 Yet this I call to mind
   and therefore I have hope:

 22 Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.”

The handwritten note in the margin near verses 22-24 reads: “Respnsv Trust

I wrote that back in 2009 while reading the Bible in 90 Days at church…I recall blogging about it as well:

August 5, 2009 · 17:53

Responsive Trust. 3:22-24. How can the writer say “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.”?  The statement about His great love, compassion, and faithfulness are from a heart that has experienced them and heard about them in the lives of ancestors of old.  How can we say this?  The same way – we’ve probably experienced them and heard about them in the lives of those we know.  It is easy to forget these testimonies in the midst of trials, but we must cling to the TRUTH of God’s unchanging character! THANK YOU GOD!!

Good stuff…

…true Stuff…

…Faithful God!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5, 6 NIV

I recall memorizing these verses
with the word “acknowledge” in it…

…”acknowledging” has such a different
connotation than “submitting.”
(at least in my oft-unyielding mind)

Good words…

O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

– George Matheson

Via: Today I Learned Something New

How far would you go for your beliefs?

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.”

— Jesus (Matthew 16:24 [NLT])

My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

— Paul (Galatians 2:20 [NLT])

Meant To Be

September 6, 2011 — Leave a comment

Several weeks ago, I shared Matt Redman’s song “Endless Hallelujah” during the offering time at church.  The song has quickly become one of my favorites from his new 10,000 Reasons album [iTunes].

One thing that gets me each time I listen to the song is the phrase:

Ev’rything as it was meant to be

In the context of the song, it’s:

When I stand before Your throne
Dressed in glory not my own
What a joy I’ll sing of on that day
No more tears of broken dreams
Forgotten in the minor key
Ev’rything as it was meant to be

The thing that challenges me in regard to that phrase is the frequent difference between how I feel or expect “things to be” and how God would have them – in His position as Sovereign Lord in my life.

Quite often, miles and miles separate the two…

…and my version of my “story” is without adversity or challenge.

With certainty, God has promised a life with, as the song’s chorus declares,

No more tears, No more shame
No more sin and sorrow Ever known again
No more fears, No more pain

We may enjoy a foretaste of that on earth, but the reality of a life like that – life “as it was meant to be” – will only come in heaven.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

— Revelation 21:3-4 (NIV)

Maranatha!