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The daily stuff, those responsibilities that seem more like a distraction, those things we want to rush and get through to get on with the better and bigger assignments of life, those things that are unnoticed places of service, they are the very experiences from which we unlock the riches of wisdom. We’ve got to practice in the everyday places of our lives.
Never despise the mundane. Embrace it. Unwrap it like a gift. And be one of the rare few who look deeper than just the surface.
See something more in the everyday.
-Lysa Terkeurst
I would love for you to follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all four.
My favorite part is from verse 3
O wondrous love that sings of Calvary
The sweetest sound this sinner’s ever known
The song of Your redeeming Son
Whose wondrous love will never let me go
VERSE 1
O wondrous love that will not let me go
I cling to You with all my strength and soul
Yet if my hold should ever fail
This wondrous love will never let me go
VERSE 2
O wondrous love that’s come to dwell in me
Lord who am I that I should come to know
Your tender voice assuring me
This wondrous love will never let me go
CHORUS
I’m resting in the everlasting arms
In the ever faithful heart
The Shepherd of my life
You’ll carry me on Your mighty wings of grace
Keeping me until the day
I look into Your eyes
VERSE 3
O wondrous love that sings of Calvary
The sweetest sound this sinner’s ever known
The song of Your redeeming Son
Whose wondrous love will never let me go
CHORUS
I’m resting in the everlasting arms
In the ever faithful heart
The Shepherd of my life
You’ll carry me on Your mighty wings of grace
Keeping me until the day
I look into Your eyes
VERSE 4
O wondrous love that rushes over me
I can’t escape this river’s glorious flow
You overwhelm my days with good
Your wondrous love will never let me go
Your wondrous love will never let me go
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You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.
I’m so confused
I know I heard you loud and clear
So, I followed through
Somehow I ended up here
I don’t wanna think
I may never understand
That my broken heart is a part of your plan
When I try to pray
All I got is hurt and these four words
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
I know you’re good
But this don’t feel good right now
And I know you think
Of things I could never think about
It’s hard to count it all joy
Distracted by the noise
Just trying to make sense
Of all your promises
Sometimes I gotta stop
Remember that you’re God
And I am not
So
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Like a child on my knees all that comes to me is
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will
I know you see me
I know you hear me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness you have in store
I know you hear me
I know you see me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness you have in store
So
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Like a child on my knees
All that comes to me is
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
Thy will be done
I know you see me
I know you hear me, Lord
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You can find me as Looking Joli Good on all three.
This devotional from In Touch is too good not to share! Waiting on God after praying and praying and getting an answer of “yes, but not yet.” is so tough! Waiting on God’s blessings in His time are always worth the wait.
Genesis 16:1-16
God answers prayer in one of three ways: “yes,” “no,” or “yes, but not yet.” This last reply seems to be the most dreaded— sometimes even more than an outright “no.” However, patience is an important trait for the Christian, as Scripture stresses repeatedly in stories, psalms, and epistles.
Waiting on the Lord to unlock a door is always wiser than attempting to pry it open ourselves, even when the delay has been long. After God promised him descendants (Gen. 12:2), Abraham lived for 25 years with an answer of “not yet.” After that quarter-century, the answer finally became “yes.” But meanwhile, Abraham and Sarah came up with their own plan to get an heir—Sarah’s servant Hagar bore Ishmael. The couple may have convinced themselves they were “helping” God live up to His prophecy, but really they were disobeying. The consequences were disastrous. Bitterness and blame affected every member of the family (Gen. 16:4-6; Gen. 21:9-10). What’s more, Ishmael’s people lived in enmity with their neighbors, and that hostility persists in the Middle East today (Gen. 21:9-14; Gen. 25:18).
Our patience gives God time to prepare the opportunity on the other side of a closed door. Even if we could force our way by manipulating circumstances, we would not be happy with what we find there. No one in Abraham’s camp was satisfied with the situation they created! We can have contentment and joy only when we access the Lord’s will at the very moment He ordained. The blessings we find on the other side of an open door are always worth the wait.
https://www.intouch.org/read/magazine/daily-devotions
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Sunday morning one of my favorite singers at our church sang this song with the choir, and it has been running through my head ever since. My favorite line in the song is…
I stand accused
There’s a list a mile long
Of all my sins
Of everything that I’ve done wrong
I’m so ashamed
There’s nowhere left for me to hide
This is the day
I must answer for my life
My fate is in the Judge’s hands
But then He turns to me and says
I know you, I love you
I gave My life to save you
Love paid the price for mercy
My verdict not guilty
How can it be?
I can’t begin to comprehend
What kind of grace
Would take the place for all my sin?
I stand in awe
Now that I have been set free
And the tears well up
As I look at that cross
‘Cause it should have been me
My fate was in the nail scarred hands
He stretched them out for me
And said
I know you, I love you
I gave My life to save you
Love paid the price for mercy
My verdict not guilty
I’m falling on my knees to thank You
With everything I am, I’ll praise you
So grateful for the words I heard
You say
I know you, I love you
I gave My life
I know you, I love you
I gave My life just to save you
Love paid the price for mercy
My verdict not guilty
Love paid the price for mercy
My verdict not guilty, not guilty
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~Ditch the Diet~
Here is a great devotional by Asheritah Ciuciu that I found to be very helpful!
We live in a world that both worships and vilifies food. A quick glance at Pinterest or Instagram reveals our society’s fixation with food, from scrumptious recipes that make your mouth water (often known as “food porn”) to scathing articles about the origins, sustainability, and ethics of the ingredients that make up our meals. For something as mundane as what we eat, food has become an increasingly complex issue that causes many of us to feel guilty, overwhelmed, and even hopeless.
For those of us who have spent years on the roller coaster of dieting, food fixation adds another layer of complexity to our journey. It’s tempting to dwell in the land of if-only’s: If only I could overcome my sweet tooth. If only I would develop a craving for carrot sticks. If only God would miraculously transform the calorie count in blueberry streusel muffins…. then I could finally overcome my food struggles.
e become so fixated on the food we eat—or don’t eat—that we fail to realize that food itself is not our enemy. Food is a good gift from a loving Father, given to turn our hearts and minds to Him in worship.
God could have created our human bodies to subsist on energy-dense flakes. But in His goodness, God chose to create a veritable cornucopia of foods with unique colors, textures, tastes, and smells to both nurture us and delight our taste buds. Seen in this way, food is a thoughtful gift from a loving Father.
So for those of us struggling with our food choices, our journey toward overcoming food fixation begins with recognizing this first basic truth: food is a good gift and it is not our enemy. And as we’ll see in the next few days, the fullness we seek in food can only be found in Jesus.
Hold tight to the truth of Scripture and celebrate God’s goodness through His gift of food.
Reflection Questions: Have you ever heard the implicit or explicit message that food is bad? How has this type of thinking influenced your relationship with food? What are the implications of the truth that food is a good gift meant to turn our hearts toward God?
Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
1 Timothy 4:1-5 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.
4 For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving:
5 For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
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“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.
I try to do things on my own. Do right on my own. Forgive others on my own. Be better, act better… on my own. My problem is that often I don’t trust in Him enough to let Him do it for me… So instead I try to take control, I try to do it on my own. Then I remember, God, You’re not done with me yet! He doesn’t expect me to do it on my own. He already gave me the power to do it through Him. I don’t always have to be the same, I am redeemed, God set me free!
Big Daddy Weave – “Redeemed” – from the new album Love Come To Life
Seems like all I can see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me “son
Stop fighting a fight that’s already been won”
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed
I’m redeemed
All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, “Child lift up your head”
I remember oh God, You’re not done with me yet
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
Because I don’t have to be the old man inside of me
‘Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I’ve got a new name, a new life I’m not the same
And a hope that will carry me home
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
I am redeemed, You set me free
So I’ll shake off theses heavy chains
And wipe away every stain now I’m not who I used to be
Oh God I’m not who I used to be
Jesus, I’m not who I used to be
‘Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed
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Because He Lives (Gaithers)
God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone,
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he brings;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
And then one day, I’ll cross the river,
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know He lives!
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
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Today is a very special day, it is a day where I set aside time to remember what Christ did for me when He came to earth and died on the cross for me! I am so grateful for such a wonderful Savior! I am humbled when I think that God loved me so much that he sent His Son to suffer and die in order to rescue me from my sins!
“The Son of God loved me, and gave Himself for me! Galatians 2:20.
It’s not just about the manger
Where the baby lay
It’s not all about the angels
Who sang for him that day
It’s not just about the shepherds
Or the bright and shining star
It’s not all about the Wisemen
Who traveled from afar
It’s about the cross
It’s about my sin
It’s about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again
It’s about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
It’s about the cross
It’s about the cross
It’s not just about the presents
Underneath the tree
It’s not all about the feeling
That the season brings to me
It’s not just about coming home
To be with those you love
It’s not all about the beauty
In the snow I’m dreaming of
The beginning of the story is wonderful and great
But it’s the ending that can save you and that’s why we celebrate
It’s about the cross
It’s about my sin
It’s about how Jesus came to be born once
So that we could be born again
It’s about God’s Son
Nailed to a tree
It’s about every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me
It’s about the stone
That was rolled away
So that you and I could have real life someday
So that you and I could have real life someday
It’s about the cross
It’s about the cross
It’s about the cross
Looking Joli Good 