psalm 23

the Lord is my shepherd, i shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
i will fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You annoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and in the house of the Lord forever.

1 peter 5:10

and the God of all grace, who called you toHis eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

I don't fully understand why we have to suffer a little while, but I trust Him, so I put my hope in Him. This valley is temporary. My Pastor here in Corpus has been speaking on Psalm 23 the past few weeks and it has really encouraged my heart. It's funny how I can so easily skip over key chapters when most needed just because I've heard it a million times before.

I've heard this song by Coldplay a lot but have never known all the words until now. It's a pretty neat song. Have a listen if you will. Words below.

Peace be with You.

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
When you lose something you cannot replace

Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes

Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you.

In God We Trust. - Derek Webb.

This is the new thing on facebook.

What does your music library say about you?
1. Put Your iTunes on Shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. You must write down the name of the song no matter how silly it sounds!
4. Put any comments in brackets after the song name.
5. Tag at least 10 friends

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What do your friends think of you?
Nothing (but the blood). -Drew Heaton. (HAHAHA YIKES! Nothing. good thing there are ( ) words but that's not much better)

If someone says, “Is this okay?” You say?
Song for the Fearless Lovermore. - The Rocketboys

How would you describe yourself?
Never Again. - Enter the Worship Circle.

What do you like in a guy/girl?
Winter. -Shawn McDonald.

How do you feel today?
Carry Your Love. - Caedmon's Call.

What is your life’s purpose?
All Together. - Dougie MacLean. (ah, good Scottish singer.)

What is your motto?
Set My Spirit Free. - Isa. (good one.)

What do you think about very often?
I miss You. - Shane & Shane. (LOL i do miss people very often these days.)

What is 2 + 2?
There's only One (Holy One). - Caedmon's Call

What do you think of your best friend?
Together. - Enter the Worship Circle. (oOO I like this song. I'll think of you, Jess, now when I hear this song. haha)

What do you think of the person you like?
Before the Throne. - Shane and Shane. (I hope so).

What is your life story?
Old Dahlonega. - The Rocketboys. (i googled it. daghlonega is a city.)

What do you want to be when you grow up?
Everything. - Bebo Norman. (hahaha, why not! i'm on my way already)

What do you think of when you see the person you like?
Psalm 18 - Waterdeep.

What will you dance to at your wedding?
You'll Come. - Hillsong:This is Our God.

What will they play at your funeral?
Rain Down. - David Crowder.

What is your hobby/interest?
Need Your Love. - Caedmon's Call.

What is your biggest fear?
Secrets & Numbers. - The Rocketboys. (hahahahaha. some truth in that.)

What is your biggest secret?
Let it Out Now. - Leeland. (hahaha).

What do you think of your friends?
A Little Longer. - Brian And Jenn Johnson.

What will you post this as?
In God We Trust. - Derek Webb.


Im doing well. Anyone out there?

Grace and Truth.

I've been reading a book lately borrowed from my best friend called, Changes That Heal - How to Understand Your Past to Ensure a Healthier Future by Dr. Henry Cloud. As usual, I am slow to get far in this book, but the first story in chapter one really grabbed my attention. So much so, I thought I would type it up for you to chew on as well. I think we have all found ourselves at some point in our walk of following Jesus, separating grace and truth. I know I am guilty. I tend to lean far to much on grace with my own walk in sin. Sin, going all the way back to Adam and Eve, ripped grace and truth apart. It was never meant to be this way. The nature of God is grace and truth: relational and structural. We need both. One without the other is deadly.

Any who ... some food for thought. What are your thoughts? I highly recommend you getting a copy of this book.

Grace and Truth.

Once upon a time in a faraway galaxy, there was a highly advanced people. They had everything they could ever desire: technology to solve every problem, and more leisure than we get in a lifetime. But they were bored. Bored to tears. They needed something new - something exciting - to liven up their planet.

A committee was established to look into the matter. They discussed coming up with a new sport. Or developing a new amusement park. Finally, an alien named Beezy proposed the winning idea. "How about creating a god?" he suggested.

Everyone agreed it was a wonderful idea. "It will give our people something to do on Sunday," one said. "And it will be great for conversation," said another.

So they tried to invent a god. But to no avail. Beezy, who had been placed in charge of the research and development of a new god called all the committee members together.

"Look, this just isn't working," he said. "What good is a god we can invent ourselves? We're smart enough to know that's not a real god. Why don't we find us a god instead - like that God the earthlings worship?"

The committee agreed, and soon afterward Beezy took a business trip to the Planet Earth. Under his invisible cloak, he visited dozens and dozens of churches and religious institutions. He took copious notes and spent hours writing up his report.

When he returned, the committee gathered, eager to hear of his findings. "Fellow aliens," he greeted them. " I have returned not with one god, but with two."

A gasp of astonishment rippled through the room.

"The name of the first god, or should I say goddess, is Grace. A very attractive goddess she is. She talked about love often. 'Get along, be friends, be nice, she'd say. And if you can't be good, I'll forgive you anyway.' Beezy looked perplexed. The only thing is, I'm not sure what she would forgive, since they didn't seem to have any rules to break."

Beezy went on. "I especially liked the things the followers of Grace did, like feeding the poor people and visiting prisoners in jail. However, - he shook his head - these followers of Grace seemed so lost. They kept doing the same bad things over and over, and they never seemed to know where they were going."

"Then there's the other god." Beezy took a deep breath. "This god is definitely a man, and his name is Truth. Truth is just as mean as Grace is nice. He kept telling the people all sorts of things about them that made them feel very bad, and his followers did the same thing. But there's a good side to Truth," Beezy reassured the committee. "He campaigns against some very nasty enemies, such as lying, cheating, adultery, abortion, and drunkenness. He's like a big religious street sweeper, sweeping away all his enemies. The only trouble is, he not only sweeps away bad things; he also sweeps away the people who do the bad things. As for the smiles you see on the followers of Grace - forget it. All Truth's followers do is scowl and scream."

Needless to say, after hearing Beezy's report, the committee were ready to opt for the new amusement park because they didn't like either god. But Beezy had one last suggestion.

"We have all this wonderful technology for mixing repelling elements, like oil and water," he said. "How about if we try mixing Grace and Truth?"

lyrics.

all you'll ever need / by: andrew peterson.

(2 Kings 4:1-7 / 2 Kings 5:1-13 / 1 Kings 20:18-39)

The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow's oil: it's enough to pay the price to set you free. It can fill up every jar and every heart that ever beat. When it's all you have it's all you'll ever need. When it's all you have it's all you'll ever need.

The blood of Jesus, it is like the leper's river running humble with a power you can not see. Seven times go under, let the water wash you clean. Only go down to the Jordan and believe. Only go down in the Jordan and believe.

And I need it, I need it. The closer that I grow, the more I come to know how much I need it.

The blood of Jesus it is like Elijah's fire, falling on the altar of your faith. All the wisdom of the world could never conjure up a spark, but no power of Hell could ever quench this flame. No power of Hell could ever tough this flame.

And I need it, I need it. The closer that I grow, the more I come to know how much I need the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus, it is like the widow's oil: when it's all you have it's all you'll ever need. It is all you'll ever need.

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I've been listening intently to Andrew Peterson's lyrics lately. Such truth in his music. Check him out if you haven't already.

What are your thoughts on this song?