Resting In Him

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord.  Open the eyes of my heart.  Help me to see how much you love me.  Let your grace flow over me like a river and descend on me with your peace.  Let me catch a dazzling glimpse of your smile as you delight over me.  Oh, Holy One, find every secret place in me and flood it with your love and mercy.  

I give you every worry and fear.  I turn them all over to you, realizing that everything pales in comparison to the love you have for me.  Let every word and action burn away, that doesn't reflect you.  I lay it all down at your feet so that I am unburdened to climb onto your lap, lay my head on your chest and feel your heart beat with love for me.

There is none like you.  None who see me and know me and yet love me so completely.  I rest in your arms as you pour out your healing balm over my wounded body and soul.  There is no lack or pain when I am with you.  You are strength and peace to my tired aching life.  The works of your hands are mighty in me, to the pulling down of strongholds.  

I find freedom and joy in the solace of your embrace.  I see things more clearly through the eyes of your grace and my sin falls away as I'm washed clean.  There is no place I'd rather be in the quiet moments when I face myself and know that I can only be whole, in you.  In you, I live and move and have my being.

From His Lap,

Truth Is...

Truth is, you can't give what you don't have.  If you don't have peace, you can't bring peace into a situation.  If you have no joy, you bring no life to the party.  If you don't have love, what can you impart to your children.  The truth is, if you don't have it, then you can't give it!

Truth is, fear is a prison.  It will keep you from people and jobs and adventures and love. Fear keeps you believing that you have to shield yourself from everyone and everything. The truth is, fear is a prison.

Truth is, you are responsible for the gifts and talents that have been entrusted to you.  God can put the dream in your heart, the talent in your hands, voice or body, but you must develop it and make it grow.  The truth is, it's up to you whether your gifts are used or not.

Truth is, what you do today is important because you're exchanging a day of your life for it. You can make it count or it can slide by, blurring into the next day and the next.  It doesn't have to be big to count. It can be a hug or smiles or a simple kind word.  It can be a small step taken towards a goal you are striving to reach.  The truth is, it's a day you are giving from your life.

Truth is, gratitude turns what we have into enough!  When we begin to look around at the gifts we have in our life and become thankful, it brings a closeness to the One who gave us those gifts.  The truth is, gratitude makes our life plenty.

When the Lord reveals certain truths to us, we should let them become real in our lives. We should take hold of those truths because they are grace from Him.  We can look to Him and say, "You've made my life sweeter."  I will worship Him all the days of my life for revealing new truths to me every day!  What truths is the Lord revealing to you that are bringing you closer to Him in your everyday walk?

I'm linking up with Paula Ebert on Worship Wednesdays.  Hop over there and see what others are saying about worship!

From His Lap,

Worship, It Doesn't Have to Be Big

Many things inspire me to worship the One who created me!  But today, I am particularly in awe of His gentleness with me.  I'm drawn to lean on the One who's hand stretched out and said, "Let there be light" and yet that same hand touches my small heart and mends a broken place.  How does He find me and my heart in this great big, mad, crazy world? Yet, He does.

He is the Lion of Judah and the gentle wing of a bird taking flight; ferocious against injustice and evil, yet humble to wait for me to ask Him to hold me and talk with me.  This is my God, who left the 99 sheep to find the one lost.  He will not push His way into your heart but is anxious to calm your fear, mend your hurt and give strength when you are weary! Will you get quiet with Him today and let Him be to you what you need Him to be?  Will you take a still moment to worship the God who's hands not only formed the universe, but they formed you in your mother's womb.  He knows every hair on your head, every ache in your heart and every joy in your life.  In the still, small, quiet moments, you can rest with Him and He will minister to you and fill up every empty place in your life.  I can't help but think that worship will begin to flow from you, towards Him!  What a way to get refreshed, charged up and equipped for life!

I'm partnering with Paula Ebert over at Worship Wednesdays.  Take a minute to hop over there and see what others have to say about worship!

From His Lap,

An Intentional Radical Life

As you walk out each day, do you live it radically, intentionally?  I don't want to look back on my life and realize that I just let it happen; that I drifted by and didn't live a purposeful, radical, worshipful life.  I want to experience radical love, radical joy and extend radical grace and forgiveness.  What a way to honor the One who created us to worship and fellowship with Him!

Radical love isn't easy.  It's easy to love the lovely, the popular, the accepted.  It's not so easy to love the unlovely, the angry, the rebellious, the unaccepted.  Radical love seeks out those who have been rejected and those who lives don't look like ours and extends a hand, a heart, a hug.  Scripture says "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you."  This is true worship.

Radical joy isn't easy.  It's not difficult to be happy when all of our circumstances are going well and all things are just the way we like them.  Happiness is not joy.  Radical joy is knowing that God will use everything good and bad in our lives to bring us blessing.  He will not cause bad things, but he will take bad things and use them for good.  This can fill you with radical joy, when others would look at you and say, you should be sad or mad or bitter right now.   Scripture says "He will turn our mourning into dancing."  That is true worship.

Radical grace and forgiveness aren't easy.  People do heinous things that we can't even wrap our minds around.  They break our hearts and they abandon us.  God doesn't ask us to keep these people in our lives.  But He asks us to forgive them and extend His grace.  That's radical.  That's not what the world teaches.  Scriptures says "if you are offering your gift at the alter and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the alter and go.  First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift."  That is true worship.

I want to live an intentional and radical life, making everyday a sacrifice of love, joy and grace.  What a way to worship God in all I do!

I'm joining with Paula Ebert and others on Worship Wednesdays.  Hop on over to her blog and see what others are saying about worship!

From His Lap,

This Is The Air I Breathe

A lot of people ask me why I sign off my blog posts with "From His Lap".  It started some years ago, when our church held a year long 24/7 Prayer Event.  We dedicated a small room in the church for prayer.  The walls where covered in white paper so that you could write prayer requests and praise reports on them, the lights were dimmed and you could play any praise and worship music you liked.  Each person signed up for an hour of prayer any time of the day or night.  Since I wasn't working at the time, I choose countless hours to spend in the prayer room.

As I would sit there in the candle light, listening to worship music and scrawling my prayers on the walls, an amazing thing would happen.  In my heart, I would find myself entering the throne room of heaven, standing before the King.  He would always beckon me to sit on His lap and spend some time with my head on His shoulder.  Now you may think that is crazy, but it was as real to me as my husband standing before me.

During that year of 24/7, I was so aware of God's presence with every breath I took.  It was intense and it filled me with a strength and faith that I would desperately need to get through some tough times, years later.  I have never felt such peace and such communion with God as I did during that year of worship and prayer.

Years later, as I was going through some serious "stuff", I needed to experience that prayer and worship like I had during 24/7.  One of my kids had moved out of the house, so I turned his bedroom into a prayer room (Don't worry, moms!  His bed and furniture are still there if he ever wants to move back home!)  Now, I can go there whenever I want.  I can turn on my worship music and get still and calm.  And before you know it, I'm there in His throne room, where He lets me climb on His lap for love, grace and peace.

For me, that's worship in it's purest form.  And I don't have to be in a church.  There doesn't need to be a live band playing or choir singing.  There doesn't have to be anyone there with me.  And it makes my soul fresh and clean, every time I go there.

I hope you don't think I'm weird or "out there".  This is just my way of getting in my Father's presence and worshiping the One who holds me on His lap.

Turn my music player off (it's in the upper right hand corner) and close your eyes, listen to this song and see if you don't enter the throne room of heaven where you can worship Him as long as you want to.

I am linking up with Paula Ebert over at Worship Wednesday.  Please hop over there to see what others are saying about worship!  Worship Wednesdays




From His lap,