Remade

As I was reading from a few different books this morning, I found a theme emerging.  There is a song that is being sung by all of creation.  It began long ago and it will continue throughout all of eternity.  As a musician, I love metaphors in general, especially when they apply to music!  Music is something I can understand!  I thought to myself as I was reading today, ‘what a great comparison.’  Comparing our worship to God to an ongoing song of praise.  Very cool.

Here’s a little bit of what I was reading today.

Even though the people had forgotten, the birds and the flowers hadn’t forgotten—they still knew their song.  It was the song all of God’s creation had sung to him from the very beginning.  It was the song people’s hearts were made to sing:  ”God made us.  He loves us.  He is very pleased with us.”

It was why Jesus had come into the world:  to sing to them that wonderful song; to sing it not only with his voice, but with his whole life—so that God’s children could remember it and join in and sing it, too.

From The Jesus Storybook Bible

What God is saying is this:  ”Everything you are is Me.  Everything you have is Mine.  The life you live is my life that I’ve freely given you.  And I want worshippers who will be constantly reflecting my goodness and grace with that life.”

God wants our lives to be a seamless song of worship.  God wants our worship to be a way of life.

From The Air I Breathe by Louie Giglio

There is something about worship music that is practice for eternity… [In heaven] we will worship the Lord through all eternity around His throne.

Quote by Thomas Miller

Since the world began, all of creation has been singing a song of praise to our marvelous Creator.  The moon and the stars, the birds and the trees…they all declare the glory of God.  (Psalm 19:1)

And throughout all of eternity, we will sing praises to God, exalt His greatness and worship Him around His throne.

Even now, we have the chance to join in the symphony that has been making music to God, worshipping Him throughout time and will continue forever and always.

Had fun creating cards for friends and family on Shutterfly today!  Can’t wait til they come in the mail!  I love this stuff!

I’ve had a lot of fun the last couple of weeks!  I love my friends, my church, my job and of course my super-awesome husband, Nick!

Here are some highlights from the last week or so

I got the opportunity to go to Zoo Blues on April 2 with the Roberts family.  It was the birthday of the Hattiesburg Zoo.  It was a lot of fun!  :)

Last Monday, Pastor Jeff Clark celebrated his 50th birthday!  It was fun to get to celebrate with he and Alicia and their Growth Group.  

My sweet friend, Melissa Cirino, is getting married soon and we had a fun, girly crafting party on Saturday to put together her wedding invitations.  

Club FX (our Family Experience at First Hattiesburg) kicked off in August, and we’re closing in toward the end of the year.  In that time, we have had so much fun learning, growing, serving, connecting…. can’t think of any more -ing words.  But it has been a blast.  We have the most amazing team and I can’t believe I get to lead such a great group of leaders.  It’s been a learning experience for sure, but as I said in a previous post, welcoming failure is a great way to achieve your goals and move closer to what you want to accomplish.  That said, it has been a blast.  Here are a few pics from the last couple of weeks. For more on First Kids check out our site.

Kristie Roberts also played a big part in Club FX the last 2 Sundays.

 Most recently she was the Comic Host dressed as the Easter Bunny.

Here’s a pic of two amazing Club FX Volunteers, Emily Seal and Emily Bustin!  (Two very talented ladies!)

We had a fantastic day in Club FX this past Sunday.  God is alive and at work in this city.  I love when God moves in worship and we experience His presence.  Sunday was one of those days and probably my favorite worship experience so far in Club FX.  Many thanks to our awesome leaders, Melissa Cirino and Ashley-Kate Strahan!!

Friends Keith and Jennifer Frost dedicated their baby, Kaylie, to the Lord on Sunday.

Today is the birthday of my friend and co-Children’s Minister, Amber Williamson!  Love ya, girl.

That is all for now.  More updates soon!

So, I read a book on goals recently, and I’ve been reminded of the importance of writing down your goals.

 Goals not written down fall victim to the ‘out of sight …out of mind’ phenomenon.  

So….I’ve written down goals for our Children’s Ministry at First Hattiesburg.  But, I haven’t really written down any personal goals yet this year.  So…here goes..

Learn!  I know it sounds super nerdy, but I love learning!  I LOVE learning new stuff and putting it into practice.  I miss school.  Not math….I hated math.  But the thing is, you don’t need to be in school to learn.  Just decide to learn.  So….I’m trying to learn as much as I can every day!  Specifically, I’m trying to learn more about theology, geography, foreign missions, graphic design, communications and general bible knowledge.  I’m working on several books right now.  I’ve only finished two so far this year, but I’m knocking out #3 soon.

Make community a priority!  I am so thankful for our amazing Growth Group and my friends.  My prayer and my goal is to be a better friend and to show love to people selflessly and generously.  

Teach!  Okay…it’s one thing to learn stuff, but there comes a point when you have to share with others the stuff you learned.  I’m working on being a teacher, which very much goes along with #3.  Be a better friend.  :)  

Lead!  I’m just a work in progress.  I don’t feel deserving of the incredible ministry that has been entrusted to me and the super awesome Family Ministry team.  But my goal is to really go for it and LEAD!  Lead by example.  Lead by making mistakes sometimes (and picking up and learning from them). Lead by making tough choices.  Lead by learning and adapting.  Lead by being a creative thinker.  I’m really thankful for the leaders in my life that have taught me so much.  Especially thankful for the ultimate Leader!!  =)

Have fun.  Yes I just wrote that down.  As a goal.  Nick and I are actually taking a vacation in 4 weeks-ish.  I’m so excited!  A vacation is long overdue!

Trust God’s timing   A sweet, dear friend of mine once shared with me a great quote.

Patience is trusting in God’s timing.

You are treasured.  You are sacred.  You are His.

Days will come when you don’t have the strength

When all you hear is you’re not worth anything

Wondering if you ever could be loved

And if they truly saw your heart, they’d see too much

You’re beautiful

You’re beautiful

You’re made for so much more than all of this

You’re beautiful

You’re beautiful

You are treasured, you are sacred

You are HIS!

-Lyrics from MercyMe, “Beautiful”

Leah was beautiful, even if the world didn’t think so.

God thought she was beautiful.  And His was the only opinion that mattered.  She just didn’t know it yet.  

I’m sure she was pretty hurt that her husband, Jacob, only married her because her father tricked him into it.  Jacob wanted the more “beautiful” sister, Rachel.  I’d be pretty hurt, too.  Are you kidding?  I’m sure her whole life, people had told her, either directly or indirectly that she was ugly.  That she was a nobody.  That she wasn’t worth anything.  Maybe she even questioned whether or not she was ever truly loved by anybody.

God loved her.  He loved her more than anyone else ever could.  To Him, she was treasured.  She was sacred.  She was HIS!

It wasn’t until Leah realized God’s great love for her, that she began to let go and find her true worth in God alone!  

Someone had chosen her, someone did love her—with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.

-From The Jesus Storybook Bible

Leah so so treasured to God, that He chose her to bear a son, named Judah (which means “This time I will praise the Lord!”)  who was one of the ancestors of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Heaven.

When you belong to Him…when you realize His great love for us….when you accept His grace….you realize..your worth is in Him.  Your faith is in Him.  Your trust is in Him.

You’re beautiful.