A MAZE MENT

God never ceases to amaze me. I can't ever remember when He doesn't come in and save me once again.

I found MY song. :) I've been searching for years and claimed many amateurs (not to say that those other songs aren't wonderful as well!) but this song...captures my heart again and again and makes me worship God in the only way I can through drama and movement.

Oh, the song? :) "He Will Carry Me" Mark Schultz

Just thinking about it, makes my heart fall more in love with my Jesus.

"Even though I'm walking through the valley of the shadow, I will hold tight to the hand of Him whose love will comfort me. And when all hope is gone and I've been wounded in the battle, He is all the strength that I will ever need. He will carry me.."

But how true is that, that sometimes we forget to hold onto the One who promises us He'll never leave us especially when we're in that valley. When all hope seems gone, He's still that hope and that strength inside of us. Isn't that crazy?! How come we forget to depend on the ONLY ONE that CARRIES US THROUGH EVERYTHING?!

Jabez is one that didn't forget. He knew that he could change his destiny by asking God to teach him how to be a blessing and to EXPAND his territory. God's been dealing with my heart about Jabez. I've been drawn to his story and this is what I've come to. :)

“Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and expand my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10, NKJV).

What a pain! Has anyone ever said that about you? Jabez’s name in Hebrew means “pain”! His mother delivered him in great pain and she never let him forget it. She named him Pain so that he would always remember what he had done to his poor mother. Ministries and Visions often come by a spiritual birth of an idea. When an idea, vision, ministry is born, like any other birth, pain is involved. Maybe not physical pain but spiritual and emotional pain. Parents tend to share the story of their child’s birth because a) the pain that was involved and b) maybe it’s the disappointments they’ve felt with their children. You might say Jabez came from a dysfunctional family, with a controlling mother who was an expert at exacting guilt from her children. But Jabez was not destined to be ridden with guilt. In spite of all that, he overcame the obstacles created by his upbringing. The Bible says that he was an honorable man — more honorable than the rest of his family. Why was that?

We find Jabez buried in a long list of genealogies — so and so was the father of so and so, and so and so was the father of so and so . . . . etc. It goes on for nine chapters in the book 1Chronicles. You are so bored by the time you reach Jabez , you forget what you’re looking for. But he is there like a shining star in this long list of anonymous characters. It is significant that what Jabez is remembered for is not some outstanding achievement, but a prayer. He did not win a great battle or erect a great building. Sometimes our ideas, ministries and visions aren’t the grandest thing because they are simple. Jabez simply prayed a prayer. But out of all the people in this nine chapter list of characters, he alone is lifted out because of the prayer that he prayed.

What is so unusual about this prayer, and why have Christians been talking about it for centuries? Let’s look at the prayer piece by piece in order to discover why God was pleased enough with his prayer to have it forever recorded in scripture. His prayer was in four parts: 1) He prayed that God would bless him. 2) He prayed that God would EXPAND his territory, or his borders. 3) He prayed that God’s hand would be upon him. 4) He prayed that God would keep him from evil.

The first part is: Jabez prayed for God to bless him. He sought God’s blessing on his life. He was not worried about being selfish, he wanted God’s best and believed that God wanted to give it to him. He remembered his ancestor Abraham, when the Lord said to him: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing” (Genesis 12:2). Jabez sought the blessing of God that he might be a blessing to the world. The Bible tells us that our whole reason for existence is to be a blessing to God and a blessing to the world. That’s it. You are not here for your ministry . The world does not revolve around your ministry . Your ministry’s whole purpose for existence is to be a blessing to the world. There’s nothing wrong with praying for God to bless your ministry, if it is for the purpose of being a blessing. It is not wrong to pray for wealth, if you are wanting to bless people with your material blessings. If you want your ministry to have more so that you can give more, then that is an acceptable prayer. If you want to be able to give more as missions or an outreach program so that people will come to know Christ, then by all means pray for material prosperity. If you want wisdom so that you can help other people’s ministry then pray for wisdom, the Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5). But if you just want more wealth in order to spend it on yourself, your prayer will not be answered. If you want wisdom so you can feel smarter than other people, your prayer will not be answered. If you want your ministry to be a success, or want to be a ministry leader, so that you can lord it over others, your prayer will not be answered. But if you want to serve others with more talents and resources, then pray for those things in order that your life may be a blessing.
The thing that grieves me most about our current culture is our preoccupation with ourselves. It is all about us. We want more, and we want it faster, better and cheaper. Our lives become shallow and self-centered when we are worried about how we look, what we have, and who might have more. So many people never have a purpose larger than themselves. This is why Jabez prayed the second part of his prayer: Jabez prayed that God would enlarge his borders. Jabez was from the tribe of Judah,which was the ruling class among the Hebrews. To increase his territory meant that his people would have more area to live in and that he would have more people to serve as a leader. He was not thinking of himself, he was thinking about the welfare of others. A leader is a servant of other people. Jabez wanted to be used by God more than anything else. Is that your prayer and desire? Is there a longing, a passion inside of you, to be used by God no matter what it takes? Are you living only for yourself at this time, or are you wanting God to use your life in this world? Do you want to be blessed by God to be a blessing? Then pray for God to enlarge your life and your circle of influence. Ask him for something so big that you cannot possibly do it by yourself. Ask him to EXPAND your territory. Surely there is more to life than trying to make yourself happy. THINK BIG!

In a time of great discouragement, God spoke through the prophet Isaiah saying, “EXPAND the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes” (Isaiah 54:2). God wants you to see beyond the circumstances. He wants to enlarge your life if you will join him by praying and believing for his blessing.

The third thing to consider is: Jabez prayed for God’s hand to be upon him. Jabez knew that what he was praying for was bigger than what he could accomplish himself. He was praying for something so big that only the hand of God on his life could accomplish it.

Maybe you’re still in search for your idea, ministry or vision? What would you pray for if you knew that you could not fail? What is God speaking to you about which you have been ignoring? What have you dreamed about, but dismissed because you thought it was an impossible dream? Begin to pray for the hand of God to be upon your life so that you can accomplish something great for him. Hopefully, it will be something so great that when it comes to pass, you and everyone else will have to say, “This had to be the hand of God, because there is no way I could have done this by myself!”

But the final part of Jabez’s prayer is the most important. We need to consider the fourth part of his prayer: Jabez prayed that God would keep him from evil. I don't believe it's supposed to read: “Keep me from harm so that I will be free FROM pain.” The New King James puts it like this: “Keep me from evil that I might not CAUSE pain.” It is actually a play on words. His name meant pain. He had caused pain, but he did not want to cause any more pain. He wanted his life to be a blessing. He wanted to be protected from the harm of evil, but he also wanted to be kept from sinning, because he knew that sin causes pain. It brings pain into the world. It brings pain into the life of the one who commits it, and it brings pain into the lives of those whom the sin was committed against. But most of all, sin causes God pain.

Do you remember what the world was like just prior to the flood in Noah’s day? The Bible says that, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Then it says, “The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain” (Genesis 6:5-6). Sin brings pain to the heart of God. If you don’t believe that, you need to take another look at the cross. We miss the pain of God in our churches. Jesus is missing from the cross, and we have our crosses made of polished brass so they sparkle in the light. We wear the cross as jewelry. But the cross was an instrument of torture. Sin caused God real pain. Even in Christian art he is often pictured on the cross, but his body is clean and his head is lifted toward heaven with a sublime look of peace on his face. But the real crucifixion was much different. He was naked and the flesh on his back and chest had been shredded by Roman whips. His body was filthy from the cell where he was kept. There were deep bruises from the beatings. The painful crown of thorns caused rivers of blood from his head to stream down his body. But all of that was nothing compared to the moment God poured out upon him the sin of the whole world and separated himself from the Son. Sin causes pain. David said, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11). Jesus taught us to pray the prayer of Jabez when he prayed, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13).

And if you think you can get by with sin without there being pain in your own personal life, you are mistaken. It will be like a cancer eating its way through your life. It will strip you of God’s blessing and destroy your effectiveness. It will tear apart your relationships and leave you very alone. It will leave you beaten, and it will alienate you from God. Pray that you will be kept from evil and from the pain it inflicts. Because if you do, you will experience the blessing of God and feel his hand upon your life. God is in the blessing business, for he says to you today, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior” (Isaiah 43:1-3).

Take hold of the promises of God and do something great for him. Ask God to EXPAND your idea.

Changes, new additions and guests....

First off forgive me if this post isn't correct grammatically. I'm on the iPhone cause well, I don't quite feel like getting up. Ha.

Let's see...change. I for one hate that word. Even before Mr. Obama(ination) started professing it. Change is hard for everyone. I'm not the type that will give up her daily routine just for the sake of change. I ardently admire those who do, though. But change inevitably is apart of everyday life. When I married my best friend, I knew I was in for a choc full of change. Changing my name, address and living situations was HUGE for me. Sure it's great I finally moved up the alphabet (White to Jones) which had been a desire since kindergarten. But coming up on 7 months of marriage (such a long time I know) going through this change (not THE change) was so much easier than people made it out to be. It wasn't like there was this fear of the unknown. There was peace. Kinda like Noah when God revealed his plan to start over. That's a HUGE change. But Noah wasn't afraid, (probably a little unsure) he trusted his Narrator and built himself an ark. And because of the faith and trust, God showed him wonderful things. What about Abram? He not only got his name changed, he got a kid! After all those years of it being him and Sarai. It was now, Abraham, Sarah and Isaac. What an amazing journey God led them on all because Abram allowed God to (key word here) CHANGE his thinking. Which changed his destiny. Wow.

Moving on....new additions, no no no babies. Just a puppy. Max Power Jones. Andrew and I adopted him Saturday. Such a hoot and a handful!! :) I love him to death. He's a boxer/lab/wanna be lap dog... :) And the grandparents (mine, not the dogs') are in town this week which I don't get to see them much. Which is very nice.


Well better get off. My eyes are killin' me!!


What change is God putting you through today?

I will rise.

Last night, my family, (mom, dad, Prince Charming and myself) watched the movie, Knowing with Nicholas Cage. WOW. Such spiritual allegories. I don't wanna ruin it for you, if you haven't seen it. but the writer, apparently had to know the Bible, especially the book of Revelations. It talks (more or less) about Ezekiel's wheel, the tree of life, the rapture, the holy spirit... etc.

Anyways. Highly recommended :)

Today is turning out to be a pretty laid back day, went in to work around 2:30, after lunch. and then going grocery shopping with mom. So far, so good. ;)


Remember, Grace is shining on you today, who will you radiate off of?

Hallelujah

(הללויה)...an exclamation used chiefly in songs of praise or thanksgiving to God, and as an expression of gratitude or adoration.

If only I could fully grasp the meaning of this word.

In the Hebrew Bible hallelujah is actually a two-word phrase, not one word. The word "Yah" appears by itself as a divine name in poetry about 49 times in the Hebrew Bible (including hallelu yah), such as in Psalm 68:4-5 "who rides upon the deserts by his name Yah" and Exodus 15:2 "Yah is my strength and song". It also often appears at the end of Israelite theophoric names such as Isaiah "yeshayah(u), Yahweh is salvation" and Jeremiah "yirmeyah(u), Yahweh is exalted". (Wi


That being said, that word seemed to be in my mind all this weekend. Thursday night, driving to Galveston. Friday, waking up to see the beautiful scenery. Saturday, driving to birthmother's wedding. Sunday, driving to church, seeing the sun sparkle off the water. and then during Worship, that was the word that was sung over and over, that the RAIN has COME.

Thank you Lord, for bringing the rain to this dry and dusty land. Continue to pour it out.

A song in my heart

It seems there's always a song in my heart but right now, My "Narrator", My Savior, My Healer, seems to focusing in on this particular area in my life right now. This song by Addison Road, (SO WELL DONE) is what my heart, mind and soul are working on. Every word seems to idealize my thoughts and perceptions on God, and my relationship (or sometimes lack thereof) with Him.

I made You promises a thousand times
I tried to hear from Heaven
But I talked the whole time
I think I made You too small
I never feared You at all No
If You touched my face would I know You?
Looked into my eyes could I behold You?

(CHORUS)
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

I guess I thought that I had figured You out
I knew all the stories and I learned to talk about
How You were mighty to save
Those were only empty words on a page
Then I caught a glimpse of who You might be
The slightest hint of You brought me down to my knees

(CHORUS)
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

(CHORUS 2)
What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of wounds that will heal my shame?
And a God who gave life "its" name?
What do I know of Holy?
Of the One who the angels praise?
All creation knows Your name
On earth and heaven above
What do I know of this love?

(CHORUS)
What do I know of You
Who spoke me into motion?
Where have I even stood
But the shore along Your ocean?
Are You fire? Are You fury?
Are You sacred? Are You beautiful?
What do I know? What do I know of Holy?

What do I know of Holy?
What do I know of Holy?


God, Teach me to know YOUR Holyness.

Reasoning

My reason for starting, yet, another blog?

Things are put on my heart by God daily, and I never write them down. Why the name "Little Does She Know"? That's my favorite line. And it seems to come up regularly these days. It was first brought to my attention in the Will Ferrell movie "Stranger than Fiction" (one of my favorites) in the scene where Professor Jules Hilbert (Dustin Hoffman) changes his mind about Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) when Harold hears the narrator, the author and finisher, of his life say "Little did he know..." I think it was then and there that my realization about life, life in general, my life, clicked. God, MY author and finisher of life, faith and hope, narrates my life (in my head) and as His child, I choose daily to live it out the way His perfect will would have me or I choose my own way. Do I start out my days, hearing my "narrator" say, "This is a story about a man named Harold Crick...and his wristwatch", No. But, like Harold, I feel like figuring out ways to get away from my "narrator" but then days, like today, (happening more and more recently lately) I want to run into His arms and say, "Take my life, have it, it's YOURS." So to make a long story short... (TOO LATE!) Here's my thoughts, dreams, aspirations, doodles, and random thoughts. Have fun reading and analyzing my brain. :)