Well, I don't want to list the obvious... because it's obvious. But I do like to remind myself around this time of year (not just one day and it should be more often!) of things that seem hard, but are really making me strong.
So here's the mental list I came up with out on my run this morning. In the freezing wind. I just couldn't stay in... not with all that turkey coming up.
1. my conscience.
Ps. 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
2. That I never have to struggle with guilt.
Rom. 8:21 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
3. That I don't always get along with my brothers, because I'm learning the #goldenrule for real.
Luke 6:31 And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.
4. That I have a little sister who knows more about the Lord than I do, because I am consistently being provoked to seek harder.
Pr. 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.
5. That I have a body-type that makes me work suuuuper hard to stay in shape! Otherwise I would never to anything athletic or hardcore (like a 4miler on thanksgiving morning in the biting winds of Minnesota!)
6. Fans. Because of you, I am forced to socialize every night when I would otherwise probably be a stay-at-home mom of some sort, never leaving the house except for church and grocery shopping! And that would just be lame. (well, until it happens... cause I'm sure it will one day and it'll probably be awesome)
7. That I live in this country, at this time in history and I have ample opportunity to intercede to my generation and my leaders- both of whom are dying a slow death without God. What a privilege to be alive and pray in the next great awakening!
There is so much we have to be thankful for. But I want to challenge you not only to thank Him for the obvious today, but also the hard things that are making you stronger.
And thanks for reading! ;)
LM
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Follow the Star
Dear sisters,
Apologies for the long absence of writing... I've been learning so many lessons over the past several weeks and sometimes it feels too overwhelming to even share them all!
Lessons, especially hard ones are so good.
So lesson #1: Follow the Star.
We wrote a christmas song last month. Our manager emailed that we were booking a christmas run and could we swing by his place on our current tour and record a song to promote it. Well, my run-outside-the-pack brother D. said doing a cover was a no go. For sure. So I was like, okay just write one then. 2 days later, we had a christmas song. I'm thinking we should write our next album in 2 days. It may turn out pretty nice...
A couple weeks later was the elections. The day after, I was sitting in my room, overwhelmed with heaviness. Feeling sadness and worry over my beloved country, also frustration over voting fraud and knowing there were hundreds of military votes that will probably never be counted. My heart ached. I felt so lost.
Later that day we were practicing our song. It's called Follow the Star, it's not really about the wise men, per se, but that's the christmas image used. It talks about wandering in the darkness, being lost in the desert... and when you can't see anything else- there's always a star in the sky. It's God, truth, scripture, prayer... any one of those things. All I have to do is follow the star.
I can release my country, it's leaders, the government, fraud, unfairness, injustice, into God's hands. When I can't do anything, I can follow the star.
Lesson #2: Humility.
WOW. That's a hard one. I have only just started this journey and I think it's gonna go on for my whole life. So all I will say about it for now is what the Lord told me last night, right before the show. He said, "I am teaching you to play for Me alone." And my interpretation was, no matter what the crowd size or however I "rate" the success of a show, my fulfillment and success must be found in God alone. No big, amazing experience is ever going to make me happy. And no horrible, dark, dirty, bad event should be able to steal my joy.
There's more lessons... but we're up next, and I gotta get my show shirt on!
Keep runnin'!
LM
Apologies for the long absence of writing... I've been learning so many lessons over the past several weeks and sometimes it feels too overwhelming to even share them all!
Lessons, especially hard ones are so good.
So lesson #1: Follow the Star.
We wrote a christmas song last month. Our manager emailed that we were booking a christmas run and could we swing by his place on our current tour and record a song to promote it. Well, my run-outside-the-pack brother D. said doing a cover was a no go. For sure. So I was like, okay just write one then. 2 days later, we had a christmas song. I'm thinking we should write our next album in 2 days. It may turn out pretty nice...
A couple weeks later was the elections. The day after, I was sitting in my room, overwhelmed with heaviness. Feeling sadness and worry over my beloved country, also frustration over voting fraud and knowing there were hundreds of military votes that will probably never be counted. My heart ached. I felt so lost.
Later that day we were practicing our song. It's called Follow the Star, it's not really about the wise men, per se, but that's the christmas image used. It talks about wandering in the darkness, being lost in the desert... and when you can't see anything else- there's always a star in the sky. It's God, truth, scripture, prayer... any one of those things. All I have to do is follow the star.
I can release my country, it's leaders, the government, fraud, unfairness, injustice, into God's hands. When I can't do anything, I can follow the star.
Lesson #2: Humility.
WOW. That's a hard one. I have only just started this journey and I think it's gonna go on for my whole life. So all I will say about it for now is what the Lord told me last night, right before the show. He said, "I am teaching you to play for Me alone." And my interpretation was, no matter what the crowd size or however I "rate" the success of a show, my fulfillment and success must be found in God alone. No big, amazing experience is ever going to make me happy. And no horrible, dark, dirty, bad event should be able to steal my joy.
There's more lessons... but we're up next, and I gotta get my show shirt on!
Keep runnin'!
LM
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