not to us, not to us...

"Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,
    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"  Psalm 115:1

That is perhaps one of my most favorite verses in the entire Bible!  It's so easy to make our lives about being a certain type of person.  We long to be great and to do great things.

But there is nothing more freeing than losing my desire to be great and living to exalt the one God who actually is GREAT.  Only then, when we are nothing and Jesus is everything, will we ever be able to truly do anything "great."  And all glory will be His.

10 ways to be miserable and angry

Surely there are 1000 ways to be angry and miserable, but I just thought I'd give you 10.  Enjoy! In no particular order...

1. Take everything personally. Because, after all, people definitely make most of their decisions with you in the forefront of their mind.
2. Try to be perfect.  Then, dwell on all of your imperfections because it will definitely make them go away.
3. Expect other people to be perfect.  Then, dwell on their faults, especially those of your spouse and family members. Then, try to change them.
4. Don't acknowledge God or do what he wants.
5. Spend a lot of time thinking about all the things you want that you don't have.
6. Compare yourself, your life, and your accomplishments to other people regularly.
7. Dwell on the past and especially on what might have been if only you had _________.
8.  Complain as often as you'd like... preferably very often.
9.  Carefully guard your time and money, being careful not to volunteer too much or give too much attention to other people's needs.
10. Don't share the gospel. Keep Jesus to yourself.

Hope I gave you the tools you need to be miserable today. :)

Love,
Leah

want what you have...

Hola peeps!  I'm kind of excited right now because Henry just went down for his nap, and my first course of action wasn't to jump straight in my bed.  (Don't worry, if this post doesn't take his whole nap time, then I'll be headed there eventually... cause, well, why not?)

Four months from today is baby #2's due date!  We all know how that went last time, so I'm not gonna plan on him actually getting here any sooner than that.  I might just try to tell myself his due date is the 16th instead of the 9th so I won't be disappointed when the kid wants to overstay his welcome.

Anyway, none of the above is what I wanted to talk about today, but I really wanted to share something totally different.

Do you ever feel like the Lord is just pounding you over and over again with a theme - something specific He really wants you to do, learn, or understand?  Well, it took me about 1.5 years (or 18 months in mom language) to realize that God's been doing just that to/in/for me...

The theme = contentment and/or thanksgiving.  They really go hand in hand.  But it all started with the book "A Praying Life" which I started to read the day AFTER Henry was due because I needed to pass the time thinking about something other than downing castor oil.

Anyway, in that book the author quoted the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:17 OVER and OVER again, which said, "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."  For some reason, that word really has stuck with me over the past 18 months and I think about it all the time.

Next. You remember when I shared this post about Leah and Rachel - all about contentment.  Once again, God used his word and a gifted teacher to highlight this whole contentment and thanksgiving thing... how it might have possibly been missing in my life, and how I was looking for satisfaction in things other than Him.

The next two ways God has spoken to me are even more awesome because they have been through CDs and DVDs that I've been playing in the car to entertain HENRY!  Without going into too much detail, one song on a CD is all about being thankful.  And then the latest, a Veggie Tales DVD has a story about a "very BLUE berry" who is so sad that all of her friends and neighbors have nicer things than she does, so she goes to "Stuff Mart" to buy whatever her heart desires, but then realizes that "a thankful heart is a happy heart" and decides to give thanks for what she has instead of trying to get everything she doesn't have.

It doesn't end there!  I recently ordered the book "1000 Gifts" by Ann Voskamp from Amazon.  I ordered it because I had heard it was good, but I really had no idea what it was about - and I definitely didn't know it was a Christian book... on the very subject of thankfulness.  And it was soo, soo good.  (Side note: She writes very poetically, which is sooooo not my style, but I was able to look past it because the content was so great.)

Oh and how could I forget the little devotional book my mom gave me for Christmas that is filled with the themes of thanksgiving and contentment.  Not to mention - the Bible.

My new years resolution was to replace complaining with thankfulness.  Which, let me just say that grumbling = sin, and thanksgiving = the will of God for me... so yeah, that should have been a daily resolution, but oh well.

It wasn't till I picked up the 1000 gifts book that I was like, "Oh, goodness, Lord, it looks like you are trying to teach me something here!"  Dumb dumb, Leah.

Until now, I always gave thanks as a response - I was more of a passive thanks-giver.  I was passively content, assuming I had everything I wanted.  But what God has been doing is showing me that thanksgiving and happiness is an active CHOICE, and they aren't limited to circumstance because God's PRESENCE is not limited to circumstance.  Giving thanks is a way of seeing Jesus in all circumstances and letting Him be enough for you...

In the garden, Eve did not look at all she DID have, all that God had given her.  Instead she looked at the one thing she didn't have.  Discontentment and the lies that fuel it are the very cause of the fall.

So what are the things that you are looking to for contentment?  Surely there are a gazillion.  I truly hope that you and I both can replace our discontentment with thanksgiving and watch God work miracles as a result of our choosing to see His constant love in our lives.

I could totally keep going, but I think I've written quite enough.

How do I know?

I wonder how many people out there wonder if God loves them.  Because I know a lot of times it might not FEEL like God loves you.  And while feelings are not always true, they are very real.

I remember when God first revealed this awesome TRUTH to me-  the proof of his love.  It is Jesus Christ, crucified on the cross, for my sins.  I remember thinking, "How do I know God loves me? Because He sent his Son to die in my place!"  If I ever doubt his love, I only need to look at Jesus.

There have been times since that initial revelation of his love that I haven't always "felt" like God loves me.  In those times, even though my feelings may be real, I must (and you must!) remember that those feelings are NOT true.  But if I fix my eyes on Jesus, hanging on a cross for me- the true AND real proof of God's love for me - then eventually, my feelings will follow.

And you know, it's kind of addicting.  When you realize how much God really does love you... you just get obsessed with the cross (the place where he displayed that love).  But, most likely, the feelings and the obsession will come second.  The choice to believe it and the mind-changing come first.

Ah!  How much God wants us to know and believe that he does love us! Let us fix our eyes on Jesus...

Good Friday

Forgive me for skipping my family profiles two weeks in a row now. In honor of Good Friday, I wanted to share the following video. The dude talking is Matt Chandler, an extremely gifted pastor at The Village Church in Dallas. I frequent his podcast. (Forgive the alignment problems.)



Isaiah 53 - A Prophecy About Jesus, the suffering Servant.

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

caution: long but good

Try telling someone who is not good at admitting failure that they aren't good at admitting failure. Tell me how it goes for you. In the meantime, let me tell you a little story.

"Once upon a time [ahem, now], Matt and I were leading a small group in the Nearly and Newly Married class at the Austin Stone. We would meet with our group on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Sunday was a combination of teaching and discussion. The format was usually teach, discuss, teach, discuss...

One Sunday [or possibly yesterday], the topic of teaching was Love and Respect, based on Ephesians 5:33. The main premise of the lesson was that women primarily need love and men primarily need respect.

So our teacher, Evan, taught on a woman's need for love first, and then he gave us about 10 minutes to spend in group discussion. (Note that discussion time was usually interesting for Matt and me because apparently I had a control problem that should have been discovered a long time before it actually was.)

On this particular Sunday, Matt was leading this discussion time and doing a great job. But at one point, I got nervous about what he was going to say next, which caused me to abruptly interrupt him in a very awkward, public, and obvious way that totally embarrassed him. It was a big and terrible mistake on my part. And it was awkward for everyone!

So, you know how when you do something humiliating like that, you start to feel hot and sick to your stomach and just awful? Well tack that feeling onto the next topic of teaching that day, which was "a man's need for respect." OUCH! And tack onto that the very emphatic admonition, "Ladies, it really, really, humiliates men to be disrespected in public..." You're killing me here, man!

So on that day, I immediately apologized, but instead of believing Matt when he told me that he had forgiven me, I felt the need to apologize at least 100 times over. On top of that, I continued to get the hot flashes of humiliation each time I replayed this scenario in my head. The end."

Fast forward to this morning, when I am talking to my best friend, Rachel, via g-chat. Rach isn't shy about telling the truth. Our conversation went something like this:

• Leah: (Tell humiliating story that I just told you.)
• Rachel: Well, it was good that you made a mistake in front of your group, now they know you are real and not perfect.
• Leah: I'd rather be perfect.
• Rachel: I know you would.
• Leah: What does that mean, Rachel!? (I know exactly what she means, btw.)
  
• Rachel: Well, we'd all like to be perfect in public, but I think that you don't like messing up more than most people because it's hard for you to admit when you are wrong.
• Leah: (Laughing to self and thinking, "Wow, my mom and Matt would both agree with you.") Thanks, butt-face!
• Rachel: Hmmmm, I really struck a chord there- ya think?
• Time passes...
• Leah: Yes, I know I can be stubborn, but can we distinguish here? I will admit that I am wrong, but I just hate admitting it more than the average person. (Can you see me having trouble with this very thing?)
• Rachel: Okay, yes, that is what I meant. (Being very gracious.)
• Leah: RACHEL! Now I have to deal with the fact that I suck at admitting failure... which is a failure that I have to admit...why are you doing this to me!?

God bless friends who speak truth to their most obstinate friends.

Yes, I'd like to believe that I am a wonderful and perfect person, instead of a weak and imperfect sinner whose only hope is to receive forgiveness. However, I can see it is actually more arrogant to continue to apologize and obsess over mistakes because it shows that you can't get over the fact that you might possibly be the type of person who could do such a silly thing.

Ahhh! "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" And also special thanks to Rachel today!

weekend entitlements

This whole fasting thing has served to uncover a lot of unfounded principles that I unconsciously live by... and it's only been 3 days. Unfounded principle # 1? On the weekend I am entitled to eating and doing whatever I want, no matter how explicitly counterproductive it is.

Think about it. During the week, abstaining from unnecessary pleasures is really not that difficult because you're in productive work mode. But come Friday around 4 or 5, what do you want to do? Relax, indulge, be totally listless and not feel guilty about it. Yes, it is much more of a chore to abstain from dessert and Facebook on the weekend. (I didn't want to admit it, but I made Matt change my FB password. It is really that bad.)

Surely there are several reasons why so many of us voluntarily sell ourselves into the weekend trance.

But today, thanks to the fasting, instead of living in this typical hypnosis, I have a clear mind. This clarity makes me more inclined to worship the Lord, to pray, to consider what my purpose will be for the next 10 minutes and the next 10 years. And I do, in fact, feel happier... for what it's worth.

So, these weekend activities are gifts, not entitlements. And as soon as I begin to feel entitled to anything, I become a slave to it. Perhaps there is truth to the 80's song, "Everybody's working for the weekend." My unsolicited advice? Work for the Lord; let the weekend work for you.

Christmas

I'm remembering this year the way that God displayed his love for the world. If you ever want to know how you can know that God loves you, think of what happened on Christmas.

"In this the love of God was manifest among us, that God has sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him." 1 John 4:9

Amen and Amen!

whatever it takes!

I spent some quality time with the Lord this morning, and as I was with Him, this sentence sort of spewing out of my heart without fear, "Whatever it takes, God! Whatever it takes to please you, to have more of you... I'll take whatever you've got for me."

God doesn't call his people to easy things. His word is clear. Those who desire to live a godly life WILL be persecuted. (2 Timothy 3) We are called to get our hands dirty for the sake of the gospel.

"Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?" (Isaiah 58)

Light has to invade darkness. God is calling his people, his light, to invade the darkness. We have to take the light of the knowledge of the glory of God go to dark places and to dark people.

The call of the gospel puts a lot of things at stake: your health, your reputation, your safety, your dignity, your life. Let's not be naive; it's a scary thing.

But there's something else that's much scarier to me. Losing the favor and presence of God. There's nothing worse than that. As long as I have God, I have everything I could ever need or want. I'll take God at any cost.

I KNOW that there will be times in days ahead that this will be much harder to say than it is right now. But I believe God is going to continue to pull us through the friction of those times until we arrive again at this resolve: "Anything for more of You." God can do ANYTHING with that heart.

Things to take away from this:

1. If you don't presently feel like you're able to give everything for God, but you know and believe that He is worth it. Pray. Pray. Pray! Pray the prayer in Mark that says, "I believe. Help my unbelief!" Pray that God would change your heart. He loves to change hearts.

2. If you're on board, then continue to trust Him. Don't step ahead of him, trying to come up with your own sacrifices. Wait for him to move first. "[He] will guide you continually." (Isaiah 58)

another quick thought

I love that God takes pleasure in showing grace.

quick thought

The American Dream is boring.

but God

As long as we rehearse the strength of our sin more than we rehearse the great strength and grace of our God, we cannot expect to change.

can't wait

This is what it will be like when Jesus comes back to reign on earth.

Isaiah 11:1-9

1 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.

2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of power,
the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD -

3 and he will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears;

4 but with righteousness he will judge the needy,
with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;
with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.

5 Righteousness will be his belt
and faithfulness the sash around his waist.

6 The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together;
and a little child will lead them.

7 The cow will feed with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8 The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,
and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.

9 They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea.

Now there's a change we can believe in.

Sunday's Sermon

Go to my church's website, and download the Sermon, "A Tale of Two Cities."

for the Love of God!!

Two reasons boasting in the Love of God in Christ is not arrogant:

1. Because you know that you did not do one thing to deserve it.
2. Because you know that he loves the next person just the same.

blows my mind

It's easy to believe in a God that forgives you when you make mistakes for the first time or in difficult situations. But it's mind-boggling to believe that he loves and forgives even when we should have known better.

To Do

Love
Be Loved

great sinner, Greater Savior

One look at all of my shortcomings, failures, trespasses, and I am tempted to despair. But I hear the Lord telling me that his blood is enough to cover it all, and that his great love reaches higher than the mountains. I hear him telling me that I can rest. "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He's asking me to be more obsessed and enamored with the Great Savior whose blood paid the price for my sin than I am with the greatness of the sin itself.

Luke 18:13

the longer i live, the more i pray this prayer...

"LORD, have mercy on ME, a sinner!"

Psalm 84: 10-11

"For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."