Glory Due His Name

Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.

Psalm 29:1-2

"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name!" This phrase rang in my heart all day after reading it this morning. He deserves all glory and will demand all glory because it is due Him!! EVERYTHING is working itself to bring Him all glory, honor, and fame.

Father, thank you for the sweet days that just Taylor, Nora, and I have had since they are already out for summer and the boys still have a few days in school. And, thank you for the "no piano lessons" week! We have just enjoyed one another and You have increased my energy to play with them, discipline them, have heart to hearts with them (yes, at 4 and 3 years old), and just treasure them! This mindset is sustained by You and is by no means perfect, but in reflection I have truly loved our time! What a gift of grace to be able to slow down and remember the treasure of this time! When my heart and flesh fail, I trust You to be my portion forever.

Despite my weak faith and anxious thoughts you have given me opportunities to have awesome conversations with people this week! Wow, it's as if it has nothing to do with me! "Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength." I have been so weak and distracted, but there is power and clarity when it is Your truth. Thank You for the times of hopefully clarifying the gospel with a student this week. I pray that she will look to You for the answers she needs. Draw her deeper into Yourself!! Please use me to encourage others in very real ways with the gospel. Help me to be bold!

At Noah and Tucker ages (9 and 7) there are constant teachable moments and needs for heart intersections. Some things due to friends and classmates; others here at home. Thank You, Father, for helping Matt and I slow down and answer questions (even right before bed); and for giving us the truth from Your Word that points them to You and reminds them of their need for You to rescue their hearts. It is the Holy Spirits work to change them. We are instruments in their lives to help them growth. I forget that so much and stress over what they will become, etc. Forgive me, Father, for not trusting You!

Jesus, thank You for the refuge that time with Matt provides! Encouraging one another, praying together, venting and being honest with one another are comforting and a breath during times when it is hard to trust, know which way to go, or how to think. May we "worship YOU in the splendor of Your holiness." You are the anchor for our souls and the direction for our path. Help us to trust You, seek You, follow You, and love You with everything we are!! 

You are good and Your mercy will endure!

Both Spectrums

You are good and Your mercy will endure!
My strength may fail, but You are my portion forever!
You are in the heavens and You do as You please!
Your nearness is my good!
Your strength is made perfect in my weakness!

These phrases flood my heart and mind when I reflect on the past couple of weeks. All of them speak of my nothingness and Your everything!! Thank You for Your strength! Thank You for Your perfection! Thank You for Your steadfast love! I am nothing without You!

The only hope I have in this world is You, Father, and You know how I've been searching for hope and joy in the things of this world. Thank You for wooing me back and continuing to pursue me when I am so faithless. Forgive me for seeking others' affections and friendship to satisfy the deep longing that only You can fill. The fog of physical pains and emotional heartaches have been too much for me to bear on my own (but I have tried) and I thank You and praise You for carrying me through.

I am overwhelmed with love and a deep hearted thankfulness for Matt and his care for my heart over the past couple of weeks. The ways he has encouraged me and consoled me has done nothing but remind me of Your gentleness, patience, and endurance. Thank You for the man of God that You are continuing to work out in him. It is a perfect work that You are not through with yet. And, thank You a million times over that You have put us together. He points be back to You and washes me with the water of Your Word!! His desire truly is Ephesians 5:26 "...that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word..." The way he leads draws attention to You and Your great power not his own. Thank You for Your blessings in him!

Father, rid me of the worrisome thoughts and fears that reveal my lack of trust in You! Fill me with Your joy and passion for Your glory and name alone.

Thank You for the graces this week:

• Sweet, short, and meaningful conversations with each one of my children have warmed my heart! They need me and my time so much. More importantly they need You. May I point them to You by my words, actions, and priorities. 
• Working out the details of this month long jury duty service. And by that I mean NO TRIALS!! Couldn't be any better. 
• Making it to the end of another school year of teaching piano. WOW!! 33 lessons a week! Next week's recital will be a time to sit and enjoy all You've done through me to teach these precious students.
• Conversations with my sister to encourage her heart and pray for her and Glenn! Father, You know and You are near and in control. Use this to press them deeper into You.
• Mother's Day was such a sweet, long, open afternoon and evening. Thank You for my family and all the ways they blessed me that day and every other day too. Picnic, bookstore, fro-yo, and home to relax.
• Laughter!! Among the sadness there has been laughter! May my joy come from deep within!

Your goodness flows in abundance, Lord! Your faithfulness reaches to the sky's! May Your name alone be praised! Amen.

His Identity

It has taken some God-given discipline to continue studying through 2 Chronicles over the last few weeks. And, by God's grace and with His help, I finished it yesterday morning! What a journey to read and study about the different kings and the reoccurring "he did evil in the eyes of the Lord." But, ah, there were those men that pursued the Lord and did what was right in God's eyes. What faithfulness in the midst of darkness. What evidence of God's strength and desire in the hearts of weak men. Josiah was just one of those men that stood out to me during my study. He was only 8 when he became king! Whoa!! "He did right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father David." (2 Chron. 34:2) At only the age of 20 (the 12th year of his reign) "he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles, carved idols and cast images...the altars of Baals were torn down..."(2 Chron. 34:3-4). The phrase "high places" really struck me in my studies. I think I've heard someone preach on this idea and truth before, so this was possibly just a refresher and reminder to my heart. What high places are in my heart that are hindering me from lifting Jesus high? Can I have high places and still worship Jesus with my whole heart, mind, and strength? Aren't high places of any kind idols? You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything..." (Deut. 5:7-8) So again I had to ask myself, What high places are in my heart and hindering my affections to be fully on Jesus?
Identity.
What others think about me; what I think about myself. God, You are showing me how much I think about myself and attached to that is what value and worth I feel like I have or deserve. Let me stop right here and recommend a book that I literally read in 3 days (it's only 3 chapters); "The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness" by Tim Keller. Amazing truth of the freedom Paul walked in by only valuing the opinion of his Savior! Paul's value was declared on the cross through Jesus's blood and any performance was simply evidence of that given value. Not the other way around. Therefore, Paul was not concerned with the opinions of others or even the opinion of himself. What freedom!
Now back to my heart. I, however, do not have that freedom because the value that others dictate or allude to about me or how I'm feeling about myself has become a high place for me. It consumes me. It causes fear, anxiety, and lack of trust of what Jesus has already accomplished for me. Ultimately what I'm saying in those moments is that what God thinks about me is not good enough for me! Talk about a reality check! I would never say that with my mouth, but I am beginning to recognize this thought process and heart posture going on a great deal. What ends of happening is all I can think about is me. High place? Absolutely!! Praise God for His grace and mercy to reveal this to me and woo me into a deeper dependence on Him and greater satisfaction in Him. There is no shame or guilt. There is just boasting in weakness at another opportunity to be awed by a God that forgives and changes forever!!
Lord, grow me and change me! Press me more into Your loving arms! Rid me of the "me thoughts." Purge my heart of the high place of MY identity. Remind me in those self-centered moments that I've been given a new identity, YOUR identity, that is unshakable! Grant me freedom from myself and to love You more than life itself and to forever know that I AM YOURS!!!!
I pray all these things from a humbled, weak heart to a great God Who is in control and can make good come for the sake of Your glory! Amen.