Riches and Praise

Riches I heed not nor man's empty praise,

Thou my inheritance now and always,

Thou and thou only first in my heart,

High King, of heaven my treasure thou art!

 

 

       I have been thinking about that part of this hymn a lot lately.  Especially when I see shows like America's Got Talent or The Voice.  People who go to those shows to display their talents and hopefully win approval, put so much importance in "man's empty praise" and the money they will get as a result.  And when I see that I can only think of that hymn. 

       Recently I went to a talent show and did my best to give my best to all the people there.  I am sure I thought about this hymn then also.  I didn't win that show or place at all but I was invited to another one 2 weeks later.  Now in preparing for this next one (which I am very excited about) I have been asking God "What do You think about this?  Is this ok with You?  Am I only heeding riches and man's empty praise by going to this?"

      Before all this happened, I had been asking God to let me do more with the gift of and passion for singing that He had given me.  This came up and I think there is something to be learned through this.  I wondered if this might be something God let happen so I could make a choice between His praise or man's.

      Last night as I was praying about this and thinking about riches and praise and my will not to heed them and wondering if I should call the whole thing off, I felt like God said "All glory to Me and all money to Me"  So then I said to God "If I win the praises of the judges, all glory goes to You because You made me and my singing voice and gave me this opportunity to go there.  The money will be Yours only and I will give it where You lead me." 

 





 

So to Him be the glory and power and praise!

Amen










I see people and the things that happen to them.  Things that change their lives.  Things that make them look different or make them unable to walk or unable to talk.  It's often difficult for these people to accept these drastic changes in their life - some might call them tragedies.  It is often difficult for them to believe that this would happen to them.  Hearing these stories, I realize that anything can happen - to me - just like those people.  I realize what great gifts it is to be able to walk and dance and talk.  I cannot imagine what it would be like if I could not express myself.  I would have to cling to God if such a thing happened to me.  Just like anyone else things can happen to me as suddenly as they did to people I know.  But for now, I am grateful.  I am grateful that I can see and that I can move and that I am beautiful.  If something were to happen to me, I do not know how I would respond, if I would be disbelieving or depressed, but I hope that I would take it in stride as a part of God's plan for my life - part of my life.  For now, though, I am grateful for what I have.

I often pray through singing or writing poems.  Here are two prayers for a brother and a sister of mine:

 

Save My Brother

 

 

Open his eyes so he can see,

Banish the darkness, set him free!

 

Loose the bonds of stubborn pride,

Shine light in places he would hide.

 

Take his heart and make it new,

Reveal Yourself so he'll follow You.

 

Teach him love is the only way,

Father, save my brother!

Save him today!

 

Amen.

 

------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Free My Sister

 

Father she can't find you,

She's longing for the truth.

She needs Your revelation,

She's searching for the proof.

 

Show her You're a Father

And You can set her free.

Show her that You're kind and good,

That You're everything she needs.

 

Speak to her within her heart,

Let her know she's loved.

Help her to believe that, God,

You're always there above.

 

Father, free my sister!

Help her know You're really there,

Let her know You love her,

Oh God, let her know You care!



A friend of mine, Papa Benayah pointed out to me the fact that if we follow God, we should talk about Him. He's our life so why not talk about Him more? Why not talk about how we met Him?
In the words of Mrs. Donna: "I love talking about Him, He's my favortite person in the whole world!"
Yeah and He's my best friend.  We often feel funny about talking about God, but it's not wierd, it's normal!

Consider this conversation:

Person 1: "I love spending time with my friend, Angie, she is so kind and honest and she's always there for me."

Person 2: "Really? I don't know Angie that well, I should spend more time with her and get to know her."

Person 1: "Yeah, and she's so much fun to be with!"

Pretty normal, right? And not at all wierd or uncomfortable.

Change it up a bit:

Person 1: "I love spending time with God, He's like my best friend. He's so kind and honest with me and He's always there for me. Plus He has the greatest sense of humor."

Person 2: "Really? I don't know God that well, I should spend more time with him and get to know Him better."

I'm sure you knew where that was going! Anyway the cool thing about God is that anything good you can think of (generosity, kindness, wisdom, patience) He's all of those things so you'll never run out of subjects to talk about Him. We can ask questions of Him too: What kinds of things does God like? How can I get to know Him? What have others experienced when they're with Him?

I've made my point - now for me to implement it...

Went on a trip recently and flew all the way.  The flight home was nuts, we had four flight changes!  Strapped in a small place thousands of feet up in the air is a kind of insecure kind of feeling. Especially if its a small plane and there is turbulance.  So mom and me were a little nervous.  I'm always asking God to keep us safe but mostly to help us not be afraid.  So I jotted down a short prayer:

We love you Lord

And all Your commands

We've faithfully obeyed,

So on this airplane flight

Please keep us safe and un-afraid. 



Here is an older-ish poem I wrote.  I struggle with not being kind and respectful with my words when a member of my family does something I don't like.  I think this poem came out of that.


Said the girl beside the water:
"I cannot see the good,
All I see is darkess, pain,
And I don't do what I should."


Said the girl inside the water,
"Look deeper and you'll find,
That the good is all around you,
All you have to do is try."


"I know that I should love,"
Said the one upon the bank,
"But always in the moment
I've got my selfishness to thank."


"Take each minute slowly,"
Said the one 'neath ripples, bright,
Think of what you want the most,
And then just do what's right!"

Champions!!!

The last couple of months, my friends and I have been doing a soccer league as a fund raiser for our missionaries in Mexico.  Each game that we play, all the players (about 16) donate a little money towards the fund.
We had four teams in the beginning and we rotated playing a game against each other every week on Sunday.  Then, just recently, we had a day for finals where two teams played and the other two played after them. Whoever won on the two games were the final contestants and they played against each other on my brother's birthday January 15th.  I am very happy to report that my team ended up being in the finals and then we were the Champions!!!

Yes!!!!

Here is my team, we're SO AWESOME!! : 

Brandon, Paul, Me, my brother John, Joel, Micaiah, Ashley, and Susie

Here are our friends in Mexico who are serving the Lord:

Gannah and Asher with their kids Edith, Evelyn, Esther (who was visiting) Eldora, Michael, Raphael, Emily and Eliana.  I love them very much and miss them a lot!