Forever My Friend

I adore this sappy song by one of my favorite artists. The lyrics make me swoon.  I guess I'll always be a hopeless romantic. :)

Ray Lamontagne | Forever My Friend

Who am I to tell her
Who am I to play God?
Who am I to think I can go it alone
Something tells me girl this is bringing you down
Something tells me girl this is bringing you down

We've been through some changes
Always seem to hold on
Lately it feel like you can't take anymore
Something tells me girl this is bringing you down
Something tells me girl this is bringing you down

Forever my friend
Forever my love
Forever the woman that I'm thinking of
I just think if we keep our hearts together
I just think if we build on this trust that we have for one another
Baby we can make this last a lifetime

Who am I to tell her
Who am I to play God?
I don't know just what's for real anymore
Something tells me girl this is bringing you down
Something tells me girl this is bringing you down

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right
Maybe it's the last thing you want to hear me say
I just think if we keep our hearts together
I just think if we build on this trust that we have for one another
Maybe we can make this last a lifetime

Forever my friend
Forever my love
Forever the woman
That I'm thinking of
I just think if we keep our hearts together
I just think if we build on this trust that we have for one another
Maybe we can make this last a lifetime

 

Will you let Me?

This morning I went to meet with God.

In the quiet place, in the stillness of my spirit, He asked me...



"Are you willing to scrap all of your elaborate plans? Lofty expectations? Wildest dreams?"

"Burn them?"

"Put them on the altar and burn them?"

"Remember I told you that I would give you your heart's desires?"

Take delight in the Lord and He will give you your heart's desires. {Ps. 37:4}

"Remember I told you that I wanted to give you something infinitely better and beyond anything that your beautiful but finite mind could conceive?"

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. {1 Cor. 2:9}

"I know what you want."

"Better yet, I know what you need."

"Better still, I know the deepest longings and desires of your heart."

"And I am the only One who can satisfy those longings and desires."

The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it. {1 Th. 5:24}

"The question is: 'Will you let Me?'"

 

Lord, I Believe! {Help My Unbelief!}

“Believe ye that I am able to do this?” (Matt. 9:28)

God deals with impossibilities.  It is never too late for Him to do so, when the impossible is brought to Him, in full faith, by the one in whose life and circumstances the impossible must be accomplished if God is to be glorified.  If in our own life there have been rebellion, unbelief, sin, and disaster, it is never too late for God to deal triumphantly with these tragic facts if brought to Him in full surrender and trust.  It has often been said, and with truth, that Christianity is the only religion that can deal with man’s past.  God can “restore the years that the locust hath eaten” (Joel 2:25); and He will do this when we put the whole situation and ourselves unreservedly and believingly into His hands.  Not because of what we are but because of what He is.  God forgives and heals and restores.  He is “the God of all grace.”  Let us praise Him and trust Him. —Sunday School Times

 

Thank you to BIENELISA, for another beautiful guest post!

 

 

It's Not The Critic Who Counts!

Been receiving some healthy and not-so-healthy criticism lately, and the Spirit brought to mind this wonderful quote by Teddy Roosevelt that someone gave me when I first started my recovery...

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." 
(Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910)

When I googled this quote, I found some additional quotes from him related to this famous, later quote. Brilliant man ol' Teddy was!!!!

"...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic - the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done." (1891)

"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger." (1894)

 

Too Glorious To Forsake

 

 

 "A woman who fears the Lord will not run away from God to satisfy her longings and relieve her anxieties. She will wait for the Lord. She will hope in God. She will stay close to the heart of God and trust in His promises. The prospect of departing into the way of sin will be too fearful to pursue; and the benefits of abiding in the shadow of the Almighty too glorious to forsake." 

— John Piper

~  ~  ~  ~

 

I didn’t like the woman I was when I didn’t seek after the Lord’s heart and sought the desires of my own. And you know you’re a child of God when He chastens you. I’m very thankful for His discipline that installs the fear of the Lord, mercy, and unconditional love. And His grace enables women to recover from setbacks and be used for His purpose. His Word portrays such women for proof. The benefits of abiding in the shadow of the Almighty are too glorious to forsake.

Way too glorious to forsake. 

— BIENELISA

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

The Water and The Blood

I love Sojourn's rendition of the old Isaac Watts hymn, The Water and The Blood. 

You can check it out here:
http://sojournmusic.bandcamp.com/album/the-water-and-the-blood


Lord we confess our many faults

And how great our guilt has been

Foolish and vain were all of our thoughts

No good could come from within


But by the mercy of our God

All of our hopes began

And by the water and the blood

Our souls are washed from sin

Our souls are washed


It’s not by the works of righteousness

Which our own hands have done

But we are saved by our Father’s grace

Abounding through His Son


But by the mercy of our God

All of our hopes began

And by the water and the blood

Our souls are washed from sin

Our souls are washed


Oh we are saved by our Father’s grace

Abounding through His Son

Abounding through His Son


But by the mercy of our God

All of our hopes began

And by the water and the blood

Our souls are washed

Our souls are washed

Our souls are washed from sin

You can purchase the album directly from the link above or from itunes or the music store of your preference. If you are broke, like me, you can get it on Spotify. :)

I promise you you will not be dissappointed! It has blessed me and strengthened my faith so much.

Peace, Love & Blessings!
~Jo