A Blessed Interruption

“We’ve got no sound,” my husband said as I made my way over to his spot in the sound booth.

Our pastor was doing his best to string sentences together into the mic so the tech team could troubleshoot.

“It was good and then it made a pop,” Josh continued. “Now the mid-range isn’t working…ha, we’ve got ten minutes to fix it.”

Well, there was no fixing it and I sat down feeling pretty giddy. The thought of unplugged voices and instruments, followed by our pastor having to project for the crowd… I tried to find some sympathy for everyone’s to-be-stretched vocal chords but instead found myself praying they’d be stretched and strengthened.

“Good morning everyone,” our pastor’s wife hollered (in a beautiful way, in case you’re reading this ;)). “Our sound is out, so we are going to do this old-school which fits because this building is just as old. Would you all please move forward and get close and comfortable?”

I moved up a few rows with the kids, and everyone else did their own shuffling. A blessing in disguise, to get a bunch of New Englanders squished together to worship. We tend to like our space.

With a piano and a box drum, we began singing praises to our King. What joy, and what gusto! We all were there for Him, unified together in our desire for Him. We shared communion and continued worshiping.

Our pastor came to the front, opened in prayer, and got right into Philippians. He preached a fantastic sermon on sinners and saints, our standing before the Lord, and how this applies in our daily life. If only I could transcribe all that he said - it was so, so good. Convicting, encouraging, truth.

I looked around the room and noticed eyes glued to the front, faces of people deep in thought. My heart swelled with gratitude. To be in a room of people who desperately want Jesus, and want to live according to His Word… to be with other parents who want to raise their children according to His Word… to see strangers-turned-friends sitting nearby… All of us, there because we want to take our faith seriously and see God glorified. What a wonderful little interruption, to have to manage without the normal equipment. Worshiping the way many of our brothers and sisters do across the world. Oh, what a gift!

The sermon ended and we finished* with this song, which fit so well.

“Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above
With wisdom pow’r and love
Our God is an awesome God!”
- Michael W. Smith

Praise the Lord for the work He is doing in His Church! I know our local church is not the only one He is knitting together tighter. Praise Him for the stripping and re-prioritizing He has worked in us over the last year. He is strengthening His Church and drawing us closer to Himself. Hallelujah, we are here for His glory!

If you are local to Southern NH/ME, come join us!

*Edit: It was brought to my attention that we sung the above-mentioned song earlier in worship, and ended with All I Have is Christ. Both songs are excellent, and fit perfectly with our time together Sunday morning.

Cast Your Burden

“Cast your burden on the Lord,
And He shall sustain you;
He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”
Psalm 55:22

David wrote this Psalm in light of friends who had turned on him. His heart was “severely pained” and he wanted to fly away and escape (vs. 4-8).

Are you in a time of pain and hardship? Are you facing struggles with relationships, or another hard trial? Maybe you wish you could escape it and be removed from the challenges.

Amidst your hardship, cry out to the Lord as David did. Cast your burdens upon the Lord - tell Him your struggles, ask Him for help and comfort. Receive His help and comfort by reading His Word.

Our God is so merciful and understanding. He is kinder than we are, more gentle and longsuffering than we are. He has exactly what we need, when we need it.

“No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11b).

First, may I point out - we are to be right before Him. Ask Him to expose sins, and then repent quickly. Be done with the sin and move on with His forgiveness.

Second - what you have, He has deemed good. What you don’t have, He has also deemed good. The struggle you are facing? It is for your good. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). If you love Him, every season of life is for your good and His glory. Trust this promise with childlike faith; trust it simply.

Third - ask. Ask, and let Him guide you with what to ask. Sometimes we know we need to come before Him in prayer but we don’t know what to say. Go anyway, dear friend. He will not turn you away. In humility, be liberal in your asking of Him. In time He will turn your focus exactly where it needs to be, and you will see His lovingkindness toward you.

“How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 36:7).

An Act of Worship

This post is from a dear friend, Natalya. Many of you will remember her from her time working with me on Strength & Song. She is expecting her third little boy very soon, and she has humbly sought the Lord’s guidance on how she views pregnancy. I hope you are as blessed as I was reading her words!

***

So often, it is easy to view worship as something we reserve for singing of songs or prayer. But worship is an attitude of the heart – “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me…” Matthew 15:8-9a. I could be singing my heart out, eyes closed and arms raised, and my heart could very well be far from Him.

A few months ago, as I began planning the arrival of our third baby, I desired to view the entire birth as an act of worship to the Lord. So often we view birth as a scary, painful, and unpleasant thing to get over with so we can have our baby safe in our arms. I don’t want to have that mindset this time around – I want to intentionally lean in to the Lord and experience the miracle of birth as a form of worship to the Sustainer and Author of life. Preparing for the birth has changed from simply making sure I have all the supplies I need and arrangements made to praying about how I can incorporate scripture and praise into the time of labor, how can I and those in the room supporting me have a mindset of worshipful peace and awe of the Lord.

Praying through this has led to conviction. I have had a doozy of a pregnancy. From the very beginning, I have suffered from numerous complications that have crippled me physically, mentally, and emotionally. When I became pregnant, I was at the healthiest physical state I have ever been, and going from that to feeling broken and empty and so very helpless despite my best efforts has been demoralizing and humbling. I realized through the Holy Spirit that I have been viewing the birth as something to worshipfully surrender to the Lord, but the pregnancy itself as something to get through and bemoan and even detest. Is that a heart of worship? God is sovereign. He could have given me a blissful, enjoyable maternity experience. I would have praised His name. He chose not to. Does that mean He is less worthy of my praise? Indeed not.

My prayer is that I will take this conviction, repent of my lack of worship in the midst of suffering, and move forward in this pregnancy with a heart of worship and awe at the goodness of God, despite the trials of life. My body may be failing me in so many ways, but God will never fail me! His strength is enough.

My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.
Psalm 73:26

Ask the Lord to search your heart and bring to light areas that you are withholding from Him. What in your life are you failing to offer to the Lord in worship? Is it your marriage? Your relationships? Parenting? Your career? It is simple to change that mindset. I pause and humble my heart before Him and pray, “Lord, how can I bring you glory in this situation/season/circumstance? Show me how to have a heart of worship even though this is something I don’t want to have in my life right now. Please turn it into something that can be used for Your glory and to further Your kingdom. You are worthy.”

For a biblical understanding of what worship is, I recommend reading this article from John Piper.

The inner essence of worship is to know God truly and then respond from the heart to that knowledge by valuing God, treasuring God, prizing God, enjoying God, being satisfied with God above all earthly things. And then that deep, restful, joyful satisfaction in God overflows in demonstrable acts of praise from the lips and demonstrable acts of love in serving others for the sake of Christ.
John Piper

Stranger Danger

Recently I took my kids to a lake that I grew up going to with my family. Little by little they waded into the water, until they were happily swimming up and down the roped-off area. A couple other youngsters swam in and out of the area we were in, talking and laughing along with us. One little girl, we’ll call her Jesse, latched on and stuck with us for a couple hours.

We made small talk and chatted about what foods we liked and didn’t like. She showed us tricks she could do, like underwater handstands and how long she could hold her breath. We smiled and cheered her on. Then we decided to swim out deeper, so the kids could touch the buoys on the rope. Her face fell when she realized she couldn’t swim that far solo and didn’t have an adult to accompany her. We figured it out and she took my hand, scared but wanting to conquer the challenge. She did it, minor freak-out and all.

When we got back into a shallow spot, she asked if we wanted some burgers.

“My mom’s boyfriend is making some, and we can share them,” she said happily. “But just not to strangers. I can only share with people I know. Not strangers. Cuz you know, stranger danger!”

I hid my surprise behind a smile.

Oh sweetheart, we are still strangers!

I tried not to show her my pain for her, having watched over the course of the morning how her mom was more interested in her boyfriend than her daughter. Her mom’s actions were not unnoticed by this sweet six-year-old girl.

But it got me thinking, as most things do.

Are there times in my life as a believer that I am happily into a situation or sin, unaware that I am supposed to be estranged from it? Am I looking for bigger, more obvious signs of “stranger danger” before taking necessary precautions?

Maybe it’s the small outburst of anger that I rationalize; it wasn’t that bad, I didn’t yell that loud.

Or a little white lie; literally everyone exaggerates. Literally. everyone.

Maybe it’s an extra nag here and there for my husband; he hates when I nag, but…

What is my standard? Is my standard what the rest of the world is doing, or even what my Christian friends are doing?

My standard should be the Word of God and how He tells me to live my life. Little sins add up quick on a slippery slope, and He tells us to flee them altogether. Don’t even get comfortable with them.

When we are tempted in the small things, let’s remember this verse:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14

May even the smallest thoughts and actions be pleasing to Him; may we love what He loves, hate what He hates. He is our strength, and our Redeemer!

And if you think of it, please lift Jesse up in prayer. God knows her by name - her mama and mama’s boyfriend too. Please pray that He will turn each of them to Himself, that they will repent of their sins and be given everlasting life. Pray that they will soak up His Word and thrive. Thank you. :)