He Crowns Us With Love

This morning I awoke to some sad, yet peaceful news. A friend of this community is at rest from all the busyness and hurt of this world. Can you imagine being in a position of complete rest and peace with no more sorrow and no more pain?
I praise God for what He has done in my friend's life. I praise Him for her teachings and encouraging words. During a time in my life when I didn't understand or know why God said what He said to me, I followed Him. I went through what my friend revealed to me as "faith by fire." God wants to know if you are going to trust the people in front of you or the God who created you."  We were sitting in her home, face to face and in  the presence of the LORD. Her voice was soft and tender like that of a mother speaking to her small child. Isn't that like God though?  He speaks truth with such a tender and soft voice?
I praise Him for the work He has completed with my friend, Pat Kinney.


 Praise the Lord, my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
    and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
    so that your youth is renewedlike the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness
    and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,
    his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.
As for mortals, their days are like grass,
    they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
    and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
    and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
    and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
    and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,
    you mighty ones who do his bidding,
    who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
    you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

After reading this passage this morning, the song from Matt Redman came to my thoughts and I began to sing it to the LORD. 

With this season of my life and all the transformations I am going through, this song truly speaks to my heart. 

Psalms 103

You can hear this song on 91.3 Hope FM online or on your radio dial. 

I encourage you to praise in your misery and in your joy.

~Be encouraged today and sing like never before!

Road Trip

I am about to go on a road trip to Virginia and visit the home I felt secure in, the town I was familiar to, and the groups I belonged in.
I really felt like I belonged and then I moved to another state. I was out of my comfort zone, didn't belong to any group and didn't know a soul in this new place. The song "Finally Home" by  Kerrie Roberts, shares that we have a home that we not only will we be comfortable in but we belong to.
The first line of Kerrie Robert's song says "I miss the feeling that I belong." I have a few friends that have recently moved to new cities with young children and they had to move into new schools.  It's tough being the new kids on the block and not knowing anyone. These kids might sit at a table by themselves eating lunch, studying in the library; alone, and feeling completely unattached from anyone. It is difficult to be in this season. Their ache is so deep that they can't believe they are in this place or that anyone even notices them. BUT GOD!
He doesn't leave us, He has a home being preapred for us (John 4:13), and we will belong. We will be so happy to be there that we will want to praise His name all day long.
Iif you are in a season of your life that you feel like you don't belong to your new school, neighborhood, or job know there is a God bigger than your empitness and He wants you to be comfortable in your present and future with Him.
 
Lyrics Finally Home by Kerrie Roberts
I miss the feeling that I belong
Surrounded by the love that I know at home
I never get to stay long
I might stop, but I then I gotta move on
When I'm not there, there's a craving in me
An ache so strong that I can't believe
There's a place that's better
Where I'll spend forever

When I'm finally home
And I finally know
What it really means to praise his name
What it feels like to know amazing grace
And there's no more road
Nowhere else to go
Nothing left to miss
Nothing left for this wandering soul
When I'm finally home

I'm reminded again and again
I live in this world as a stranger and
As good as it's been
Or as bad as it gets, it all will end
I want to stand where hope and faith and love
All meet in one face
Oh, I wanna be where I can see
What I now believe

Ultimate healing
Where hurt can't reach me
I won't need to find every answer
All I need will be found within you