All posts in My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME

Contentment; A Train Of Thought Sprung From A Visit

by admin on January 22, 2010 in Life Keeps Changing, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME, People In My Heart with No comments
(Nanny and Papa, at the beach with all of the kids and grand-kids, this past summer!)

My folks where in town the last two days. A pretty quick trip, kind of an unexpected trip, due to some appointments they had in my city. I will take what ever I can get where visits with them are concerned. Living so far away from them is a constant prick at my heart. I adore my mom and dad!

I think everyone has things in their life that where not what they planned and perhaps where exactly what they where determined wouldn’t happen but LIFE HAPPENS. The grass is always greener in our unfulfilled dreams! We have to realise we romanticize our dreams, or I wanted to’s, and then because of that can fall into brooding in an unfairly harsh way about our present situation. Every time, step, stage, in life has its good things and its negatives. Likewise, every dream we have will have great things and hard things. Whether we get our way or not we will face good and bad and must find a way to be content.

Contented — gratified, pleased, happy.

1TIMOTHY 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain”

I try hard to enjoy every stage I am in in my life. Many of the treasures it had will not be found in next and new stages and I will miss them, especially if I took them for granted! I love to move on in life with a heart full of memories, because I embraced the last step on the road of life and enjoyed it, with this load of happy memories there is no room for regrets!

TTFN

January’s Hymn

by admin on January 15, 2010 in Better Check Out Blogs, Better Check Out Links, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME, The Hymn Project with 2 Comments
After my morning walk with all the kids to the bus stop I am filled with energy. Lungs full of fresh air I load up the audio clip I found and practice my new (well, new to me) hymn.

Check out my previous post to learn more about where THE HYMN PROJECT started.

MY METHOD_______________________

My method is simple, flip through the old hymnal I have till I spot one I don’t know. Once I have a look at the lyrics and find something that moves me I look it up on a couple different sites I know of that have the audio and the lyrics so I can learn the tune (I can’t read music). I then sing it through about once a day so I know it well by the end of the month.

MY CHOICE________________________

I chose from the peace and joy section of my hymnal for January’s hymn and came up with ‘Loved with Everlasting Love‘, written by James Mountain, please click on the authors name to link to an article from a favorite blog of mine on the author. I have to say, the authors name caught my interest too. I hadn’t heard of James Mountain before.

MY JOY___________________________

This is proving to be a lovely goal and interesting project for me. I grew up only knowing a few hymns. I think choruses where far more common in my church background. I am finding many hymns move me because of their wonderful poetic lyrics! I also love history so looking up the hymns and authors has been very enjoyable for me too!

Here is the site I found the audio for this hymn; http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/284 . I just noticed this site also has an option to get the guitar chords… hmmm… maybe this will encourage me to pick up my guitar and start playing again… maybe…

Heaven above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His, and He is mine.
My Favorite Verse From January’s Hymn

TTFN

Just As I Am, Without One Plea

by admin on January 14, 2010 in My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME, The Hymn Project with 1 Comment
Found truth about priority in my life and worship in my heart when I sang this hymn yesterday morning…

Just as I am without one plea
But that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God I come! I come!

Just as I am and waiting not to rid my soul of one dark blot, to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot

Just as I am though tossed about with many a conflict, many a doubt, fightings and fears within without

Just as I am poor wretched, blind; Sight, riches healing of the mind, Yea all I need, in thee I find

Just as I am thou wilt receive
Wilt welcome pardon cleanse relieve;
Because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!

_____________________PRIORITIES

The verses of this old hymn in italics convicted me about my priorities. I had been feeling very conflicted and wretched… While examining my heart in hopes of finding where I was blind a damaging focus of mine was reveled. I had been putting something, that is not without value, ahead of Jesus… Because of this wrong order of priorities in my life I had started to feel unable to connect on a deeper truer level with others and with my savior.

I felt off base and had searched for a song to sing, as often worshiping helps redirect my heart and I was lead to an old favorite. I needed to admit my recent sin and place it all (all that I am) before my God so this hymn struck absolutely true.

_____________________WORSHIP

When I first moved into this house I sought to worship the Lord every morning by singing out of an old hymnal I have. I gave myself a goal of learning one new hymn each month… Started by learning ‘Hover Ore Me Holy Spirit’ and didn’t carry on with my goal. This little goal was simply meant to encourage myself to start each day with a worshipful heart…

Was reading a comment by a friend about the worship services in Solomon’s temple when it was new and I was moved. Because of a transition my family is going through right now I was missing corporate worship and I think that lead to my slacking off in my own personal worship… it then hit me how backwards that was… we all need our own lives and hearts to be worship filled first if we are to be effective corporate worshipers. I need to start at home with my own heart!

For the sake of a little accountability and/or encouragement I will continue to link the song I am learning on the side panel of my blog and will post once a month about my new hymn… I am excited to start my goal up again!

TTFN

Found It

by admin on January 12, 2010 in My Listening Year, My Year of Right Sacrifice-TIME with No comments

Sacrifice – the surrender, devoting or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.
Too tired to turn on the computer and look up the devotional I have been following I flipped open my favorite copy of the Bible and found Psalms… it felt like a Psalms kinda morning…

I sat with my younger two screaming and laughing and running around the room and tried really really hard to listen… I don’t have a word for my year…. not so far and it has been the first year in, well, years so I have been feeling a bit nervous… worried about why not!

Looked down at the fourth Psalm and noticed scribbles. This caught my attention as there are hardly any marks in this Bible yet. Verse four and five had a special note dated three years ago from now. “I need to sacrifice my TIME, to Him so I can trust him and not be distressed, disturbed…” The verses read ‘When you are disturbed, do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the Lord’

If I get stressed I still tend to cram my time till I am too busy for the Lord, on purpose often, and then I only become more overwhelmed by life and out of line with my life purpose, glorifying God, furthering the Kingdom, aligning myself with what He has going on… That was the mark where this arrow of scripture hit my heart years ago and it did so again today… After a year learning about listening I no longer think I can just learn stuff and hope it sticks or try to change… I now no it will involve coming to the Lord, waiting on the Lord…

The verse and comment where as relevant today…Phew, can I sacrifice TIME to the Lord this year?

TTFN

Newer Entries →