Scripture Study: Creating an Atmosphere of Worship

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Lately, I have found myself getting easily frustrated and quickly irritated with both Kerry and Julian. I could throw out a bunch of excuses in an effort to justify my behavior, but that is not the appropriate response. My behavior is not the fault of Kerry or Julian. It is the result of my own sinful heart choosing sin rather than grace.

I reflected on my daily routine to see if there was any way that I could carve out more time to spend with the Lord, more time in His Word and, while I realized that I often do have more time that I could spend with Him, sometimes that is just not reality. However, one simple change afforded me the opportunity to spend literally all day with the Lord and not allow my homemaking and child-rearing tasks fall to the wayside. I decided to listen to nothing other than praise and worship music during the day. I did this yesterday for the first time and I noticed a definite difference in my attitude and my response to both my husband and my son.

1 Chronicles 16:23 Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Psalm 71:8 My mouth is filled with Your praise and Your glory all day long. 

 

According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, the word worship shows up in scripture 114 times and the word praise 195 times. The word sing appears 99 times, most often in some variation of the phrase "sing to the LORD". It seems to me that worshiping and praising the Lord is an important thing to do. While I know that worship is not limited to singing, having praise and worship music flowing through my home during the day definitely adds to the atmosphere of worship I hope to cultivate in my home.

Another way that I am aiming to create an atmosphere of worship in my home is by committing Scripture to memory. I was blessed to come to know the Lord at a young age and memorized quite a bit of Scripture as a child, which comes back to me easily even many years later. I memorized Scripture in school, all the way through college where I memorized entire books at a time. I have let that go since getting married and having a baby, but that is something that I want to re-ignite in myself so I can be an example for my children.

I am planning on taking this challenge over at Intentional By Grace during the month of July.  
Will you join me? How do you create an atmosphere of worship in your home?

Scripture Study: 1 Corinthians

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"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." II Corinthians 4:17-18

These verses have been weighing heavy on my heart over the past few days. There are so many injustices in this world. So many things that cause me to weep. The three year old nephew of an acquaintance who just this morning had his cancer-filled eye permanently removed. The child sex slaves not just in Korea or India, but in Minnesota. The over 3,000 children waiting for a family in the Illinois foster care system alone. My 18 year old sister who faces life with a brain tumor. Stuff like this stinks. It hurts my heart. But, I remember the words of Jesus when He says,

"...In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

 For believers, these troubles are more than what they appear on the outside. They are molding and shaping us for God's purposes. They are refining us. I don't know how people who do not have Christ as the anchor, as the foundation, of their lives process issues like this, but I am so thankful that when my heart is burdened, when my soul is torn to pieces, reading and hearing about the troubles in this world, that I can turn to the One who created and sustains all things for solace. 

thankful thursday

Thank you, Jesus!

The Lord blew me away in a BIG way this morning...

Kerry and I watch a little girl a few mornings a week named Emily (not her real name). Emily is eight years old. She is dropped off at our apartment around seven and one of us takes her to school around eight. She usually arrives around the time we are sitting down to eat breakfast, so she reads quietly or plays with some of the toys we have. She is intrigued by Julian and loves to pick out his diaper cover when I go to change him. She does not come from a Christian home and does not regularly attend church. She talks and sings songs about things I never even knew about until after I was married. If Julian were any older, I would be worried about the influence she had on him.

One day while we were driving to school last week, she was telling me about what she was learning in school. She mentioned some foreign countries she was learning about and asked if I had ever been outside the US. I told her that I had and shared with her the various places I had been on missions trips. She was quite impressed with this and exclaimed "I didn't know you were a missionary!". I explained to her that I am not a missionary in the sense that she was thinking, but that I am a Christian. She told me about a VBS she had been to once before and the missionaries she met there. We got to her school and that conversation was done.


When she got here this morning, we were sitting down to breakfast. We prayed and she was just walking around the living room, talking to us while we ate. She sat down on the bench by our front door and, out of the blue, said, " I can't wait to be a Christian someday." I asked her what she meant by that and she said that she couldn't wait until she had prayed enough to make her a Christian. I was close to crying, at this point, so moved by what the Lord was allowing me to participate in. I told her that the only thing she must do to be a Christian is to accept the free gift of salvation from Jesus. So, she sat on my couch and prayed to accept Jesus as her Savior.

I am so humbled and grateful that the Lord used me to help this little girl realize her need for Him in her life. This serves as a reminder to me that God can and will use ANYONE to accomplish His purposes, even a stay-at-home mommy just trying to make a little extra money for her family by watching a little girl a few times a week. Thank you, Jesus!