Trevor Hall - Te Amo/Acoustic (By:Jão)

Shane and Shane: Before The Throne (with Bethany Dillon)

When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because a sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me
To look on Him and pardon me
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Praise the One, Risen Son of God!

The Lord is good and He remains faithful, forever.

Forever.

Throughout the Bible God has made promises. 
He promises to never leave us or forsake us.  And He hasn't.
He promised Abraham that He would have many descendants.  And Abraham had MANY descendants.
He promised that there would be a Savior.  And there was.
He does not break His promises.  In Titus 1:2, we see that it is impossible for God to lie.  He is true to His word.

God also promises that we will face difficulty; the Christian walk isn't easy.  So, we are to remain faithful to Him and trust Him.  He loves us, He is good, and He is faithful.  Forever will He be with us.  He will never let us go.  His love endures forever.  Forever.  Can you think about that?  Forever.  Forever He is faithful, Forever He is strong, Forever He is with us. 

It is hard to have faith and trust Him, especially in tough times.  But, that's what we are to do.  Trust Him.  Because He is good.  And He will never let us go.   Romans 8:28 tells us:  ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  And in Jeremiah 29:11, it says:  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

It's hard sometimes to see the hurt and the crap in this world, and to still say, God is good.  But, the truth is, He is Good.  And He loves us.  And no matter what we're facing, we are to remain faithful to Him, just as He remains faithful to us.  No, we're not perfect, and certainly not God, but we are called to have faith and to be faithful to Him, and when we seek Him He will help us.

God's timing is perfect.  Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.  It's not easy to be patient, to wait on Him.  But that's what we are to do.

Remaining faithful and being patient isn't easy, and it won't be.  But we have to do this.  Because He will deliver us.  His love endures forever.  He is constant, He does not waver.

And He will bless us so much.  The walk with God isn't easy, but it's good.  He has a plan for us, even if we don't understand.  His ways are far above ours, and we won't understand completely.  But, He loves us and has a wonderful plan for us.
We see in Proverbs 3:5-6,  ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.^[a

He knows what we need.  He really is good beyond what we can understand.  May we remain faithful to Him, and Trust His plan for us even when it's tough.  May we grow in this truth.

This is the truth God revealed to me/reminded me of, thought I would share.  God Bless.  Take Care.

I leave you with this video.  Take a look/listen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RmZFaruXhs

edit:
Also,  read all of Proverbs 3.  Great.  And check out Psalm 136; here are a few verses from it,  Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks for the God of gods.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords;  His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1-3

Oh that we may hold on to the truth that God loves us so much.  May we have great faith. 
Like I mentioned, He wants to great things in us, we are to just trust Him and be obedient to Him.  Let's let Him do a great work, and just trust Him.  How easy that is to say, but so hard to always do.  But, Lord help us!  Oh, what great things can come out of this!  Blessings to you.

-Kelsey

Honduras

God is good.
God has a plan for my life.
God works is mysterious ways...we don't always understand what He is doing.
FAITH is the very core and foundation of my relationship with God.

For months, my church had been planning a trip to Honduras, but I didn't plan on going.  I kept hearing things about it, but I wasn't really involved in it, since I wasn't going.  But, as it got closer and closer for my church family to leave, people were talking more about it, and I was wishing that I had planned to go with them.  Well...apparently it was planned for me to go, all along; it just wasn't my plan.  The Honduras team was to leave last Tuesday early in the morning .  Around 7:30 pm, monday, the night before, I received a call from my youth minister.  A friend of mine who was going on the trip wasn't going to be able to go on the trip any more; her passport had expired and she didn't know it until that night.  And my youth minister was looking for someone to go in her place.  I hated it so much for my friend; it sucked so bad; I know how much she wanted to go.  But, there was a reason all this was happening.  So, I told my youth minister I would think about it and talk to my parents and call him back within minutes.  I did want to go.  At first, my parents were very hesitant; it was extremely last minute and other factors were contributing; I mean of course, understandable.  At first I told my youth minister no because my parents didn't seem like they wanted me to go, but after a few minutes and talking with my parents, they gave me the okay to go. So around 9:30 Monday night until about 1:00, I was packing for Honduras.  I got to the airport a few hours later and headed to Honduras with my church family!  It was crazy; I was going to Honduras!  I was excited, but didn't really know what to expect.  I had gone on international mission trips before, so I wasn't really worried about it. 
While I was in Honduras, I had the privilege of ministering alongside of my home church family and other believers who worked in the orphanage, where we served.  I don't feel like those kids know any stranger, well maybe they knew we loved me that's why they acted the way they did, not sure.  But, as soon as they encountered me and my sisters on the first morning, they hugged and greeted us like we had been their friends forever.  They wanted to hold our hands, hug us, and be our friends, and they didn't even know who we were!  I spent most of my week with older girls...they ranged from around 12-25, but I also got to spend time with the toddlers and the younger girls and boys.  Those kids are so beautiful and sweet; what a loving group of kids!  And those little ones are so cute!  The loved they showed was a great glimpse of God's love for us.  And they were so sharing.  They were constantly writing us notes, making us bracelets, and giving us other things that they had.  When we would take them to the store; they would share what they got with us, their friends, and their siblings.  They barely knew us, but they loved us like they'd none us for a long time.  It's crazy because groups come in and out of that place all the time, and they still love on us just like never seen people come in there.   I know they long for people to love on them and spend time on them because there just isn't enough for them all to get a lot of one on one on attention (but those staff love them, no doubt), but when I think about this, I think of two scenarios.  I just wonder how I would be if I was in their place.  Would I be so open to love, to love people I didn't know?  Or I would be reserved?  I get that they would want love, but I just wonder if they ever are hesitant?  Just a thought.  I am thankful for the loved they showed me.  And praise God that He is doing so much in their lives, He is showing His love through them.  And when we left, they were sad, but they told us not to cry; are they so used to people coming in and out of there?  Just was crazy to see.  They definitely taught us a lot!  It was a blessing to get to spend time with them.  I am thankful for the older girls that I did get to spend more time with; I hope to stay in contact with them. 

I am thankful that I knew some Spanish, others from my group knew some, and some of the kids knew some English, so it was definitely helpful, but it was still a definite struggle.  There were times when I just wished I could just say what I needed to say in Spanish like I could in English, but it wasn't that easy.  Having a language barrier is tough for sure, but God used us in awesome ways to love on those kids, despite the language barrier.  I will say it is such a cool thing to witness prayer and praise (singing) and reading of Scripture in Spanish and in English; God is being worshipped by His people in two different languages.  Even though I didn't know the language, it was still very cool; it didn't matter whether or not I knew the language.

God is good.
God has a plan for my life.
God works is mysterious ways...we don't always understand what He is doing.
FAITH is the very core and foundation of my relationship with God.

God seemed to be resonating these truths while we were in Honduras; I'm pretty sure, in some way or another, the fact that God does things we don't understand was talked about at least four times while we were, basically the same wording.  And specifically, faith was talked about two times.  And there was a talk about God is good no matter what at least once.  But that's just specifically, they all were talked about and tied in throughout the week.  God is good; He loves us and wants to do awesome things in our lives (His plan for us), we don't always understand what He's doing or why He's doing, but because the previous are true, He will be faithful, and we should be faithful to Him, and trust in Him.   Good stuff.

The trip was challenging at times, but all in all it was good, and a great blessing.

Peace and Love.

-Kelsey

"O Come Let Us Adore Him" - Shane and Shane

Being in the "Christmas spirit/mood"

As the holiday season(s) approach...starting at Thanksgiving...people begin to get "in the spirit" or maybe they don't.  It's not uncommon for some people to say:   "man, it's Thanksgiving already?"  "It's November already?"  "Christmas is only a month away??"  "It just doesn't feel like Christmas time."  "I'm just not in the Christmas spirit."  "I'm not really in the Christmas mood."  And it's not that they don't like Christmas or Thanksgiving; in fact it may be their favorite season(s).  So, why are they feeling this way?  And how does one get in the "mood" or "spirit"?  And while we're at it; some of you may be asking..."what the heck are you talking about?  and what the heck is the "spirit and mood" you're talking about?Well...
Perhaps, they feel unprepared ; maybe they're just so busy, they haven't had time to spend time baking and getting presents, and spend time with family.  Maybe they're so busy, they haven't had time to sit down and reflect on the holiday season, and take time to take it all in, to cherish it.  Maybe they've lost loved ones, and they just can't focus on the holidays, maybe it hurts too much?  Perhaps, the weather isn't cold enough outside; maybe it just (literally) doesn't feel like Thanksgiving/Christmas time?  Maybe you haven't cooked enough holiday foods/treats, spent enough time with family, done enough "holiday activities"?  Maybe you have no idea why you're feeling this way.  Well, let's see...what is this "spirit" I'm talking about anyways?  When Christmas time comes, people tend to be happier, in a better mood.  They get happy about all the Christmas music, they get excited about decorating their houses for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  They get this happy feeling inside of them, they are "ready" for the holidays; they are in said in "holiday spirit"; they have this feeling about them. 
And how, you may be asking, does one get in this mood if they aren't already.  Do they sing lots of Christmas songs and wear awesome Christmas sweaters?  Do they dive into the Bible and read more of the Christmas story?  Do the spend time reflecting and praying?  Do they spend more time with family?  Do they go shopping ahead of time so they don't feel rushed, thus they feel more prepared, thus it puts them in the Christmas mood? 
Well, I have provided a lot of possible answers to these stated question.  But, I don't have an exact answer.  I have just been hearing people say they aren't in the Christmas mood; they just aren't feeling like it should be Christmas time.  And I'm with them.  And getting more in the Christmas mood as I read the Christmas story again and listen to Christmas music.  I love Christmas, but for some reason it just doesn't seem like it's time for Christmas.  I mean, they are decorations in my house; the tree is decorated, and there are presents under the tree.  I'm on Christmas Break from school.  I've been to Christmas parties.  I have been slacking on my Christmas shopping and haven't listened to as much Christmas music as I'd lack.  And the weather isn't all that cold for this time of year.  I have been praying that this Christmas season, we would be more focused on Christ, family, and serving, and much less about all the presents we can gather.  Because it IS about Christ, period.  We get so caught up in everything else.  But, that's another blog post for another time ;). 
So, I can't clearly define for you the Christmas spirit.  I can't definitely tell you why people don't feel in the spirit, or definitely how we remedy this.  I would like to be able to.  I merely just wanted to write out my thoughts.  Perhaps you (whoever you may be, if anyone is reading this), would like to share your thoughts.

Blessings,

A poem.

A poem I wrote some time ago.  It's called Simplicity.

It’s there, it always has been, even at the beginning

We just have to come back to it,

It can be found, it is there,

Really, it’s all around us

We have to be willing to let go and let it consume us,

We would all be better off if we did that.

There is none that is as powerful as He, none that even stand close,

We like to make our names high and boast in our goodness,

But really we’re called to become small and humble,

To lose every bit of power we may have or seem to think we have.

By no stretch of the imagination is it easy,

To become less, so He can become more,

But by every stretch of the imagination, it is possible.

We get so worried about things around us, we lose that factor that has always been there,

That simplicity.

It’s in the beauty around us, but we get so caught up, we get so distracted,

We forget it and lose it.

But it is attainable, it always has been.

It may not be as easy now to get as it was but my all means it is still possible.

Oh let us become silent and wrapped up in the beauty that’s out there.

Let us get away from the distractions and the hindrances that entangle us.

Let us trust in You

Let us allow You to captivate us

So that our focus is completely on You,

There is no room for anything else,

No room for worries, anxieties, stresses,

Just us and You,

There is nothing hard or complicated about that.

For if we could just come back to the beginning where it all started,

And see that all this nonsense isn’t necessary,

It’s not needed, nor is it wanted,

It has bogged our minds and pulled us down for too long,

Surely we do want to fix this.

It’ll be tough, but yes, it will be worth it.

Perhaps we’re so caught up, that we’ve forgotten that it’s there,

And maybe we’re scared and maybe we’re comfortable.

We may not want to work at it.

But oh, if we can bring it back, oh how it’ll be worth it,

Of course, we don’t have what it takes to do it ourselves,

We aren’t supposed to that is why He is here.

Oh let us lean on Him, reach out our small hand and grab on to His.

After all, that is all that has been required of us,

To reach out our hand.