O Love beyond Compare,
Thou art good when thou givest,
when thou takest away,
when the sun shines upon me,
when night gathers over me.
Thou hast loved me before the foundation of the world,
and in love didst redeem my soul;
Thou dost love me still,
in spite of my hard heart, ingratitude, distrust.
Thy goodness has been with me another year,
leading me through a twisting wilderness,
in retreat helping me to advance,
when beaten back making sure headway.
Thy goodness will be with me in the year ahead;
I hoist sail and draw up anchor,
With thee as the blessed pilot of my future as of my past.
I bless thee that thou hast veiled my eyes to the waters ahead.
If thou hast appointed storms of tribulation,
thou wilt be with me in them;
If I have to pass through tempests of persecution and temptation,
I shall not drown;
If I am to die,
I shall see thy face the sooner;
If a painful end is to be my lot,
grant me grace that my faith fail not;
If I am to be cast aside from the service I love,
I can make no stipulation;
Only glorify thyself in me whether in comfort or trial,
as a chosen vessel meet always for thy use.
O My Savior, help me.
I am so slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb; I am in the foothills when I should be in the heights;
I am pained by my graceless heart,
my prayerless days,
my poverty of love,
my sloth in the heavenly race,
my sullied conscience,
my wasted hours,
my unspent opportunities.
I am blind while light shines around me:
take the scales from my eyes,
grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief.
Make it my chiefest joy to study thee,
meditate on thee,
gaze on thee,
sit like Mary at thy feet,
lean like John on thy breast,
appeal like Peter to thy love,
count like Paul all things dung.
Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be
more decision in my character,
more vigor in my purposes,
more elevation in my life,
more fervor in my devotion,
more constancy in my zeal.
As I have a position in the world,
keep me from making the world my position;
May I never seek in the creature what can be found only in the creator;
Let not faith cease from seeking thee until it vanishes into sight.
Ride forth in me, thou king of kings and lord of lords,
that I may live victoriously, and in victory attain my end.
How are you doing? Are you fininshing 2010 strong or are you limping to the finish line?
The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on the year that is ending and make adjustments for the new year. Below is a resource I came across in the book "Confident Parenting" that provides a guideline for reflecting on the different components of your life. Are you being intentional about the Legacy you are leaving behind?
Soli Deo Gloria
ah
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Keeping all of the different components of your life in order is no easy task.For your sake – and for the sake of your family – evaluating your priorities is an important step in keeping your life on track.
1. Relationship with God
Are you loving the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind?(Matthew 22:37,38)
Are you seeking first His kingdom and righteousness?(Matthew 6:33)
Are you spending regular time in prayer and in His word?
Are you growing in Christ-like character? Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) and Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians -23)
2. Relationship with your spouse
Are you loving your spouse sacrificially and unconditionally as Christ loved the church? (Ephesians 5:25-28)
Are you meeting your spouses’ needs?
*Emotional
*Physical
*Spiritual
*Romantic
What would your spouses’ answer be?
3. Family
How often does your family only receive your leftover emotional scraps?
Do you view your children as gifts from the Lord? (Ps. 127:3)
Are you encouraging your children, are you comforting them, are you urging them to live lives worthy of the Lord? (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12)
Are you taking the responsibility and privilege of mentoring your children in their faith? (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
Are you loving, enjoying, and spending sufficient time with your children? How about your extended family?
4. Work
Are you being a good steward of the gifts, opportunities, and resources God has entrusted you with in your work for the benefit of God's kingdom? (Matt. 25:14-30)
Are you enjoying your work as a gift from God?(Ecclesiastes. 3:22)
5. Ministry
Is your involvement in ministry …
*Appropriate to your giftedness?
*Sufficient (too little/ too much)?
*Fruitful?
*Rewarding? (Ephesians. 4:11-12 & 16)
Are you active in reaching the lost world for Christ? (Matt. 28:18-20)
6. Friends
Are you spending and enjoying time with good friends?
7. Personal
Do you like the person you are becoming?
How is your health and physical fitness?
Are you continuing to grow mentally?
Are you spending time and developing personal interests or hobbies?
"Scripture itself encourages humans to use their minds to examine truth claims. As Paul writes, “Test everything, hold on to the good” (1 Thess. 5:21). It turns out that you have to practice the first part of the verse -- testing and questioning -- in order to build the wisdom to recognize, choose, and hold on to what is good. To adapt a line from Wordsworth, the questioning child is father to the truly committed man." Nancy Pearcey
"A couple of days ago I received an email from a young man who reads this site and he asked a rather simple question: How am I to react to sexual desire? As a teenager, unmarried and with marriage in the distant future rather than the near future, he wanted to know how God would have him understand sexual arousal.
That took me a little bit of thought, but here is how I think a young man can understand sexual arousal." Tim Challies
"Research has borne out the fact that Christmas is a great time to share Christ. Christmas marketing campaigns and advertising are good support, but the most effective approach remains the personal relationship. Let’s not miss it by being distracted by Christmas trappings ourselves" Ed Stetzer
A friend shared this with me this week: "I truly believe with all my heart there are no more needy than an orphaned child. Please join me in prayer with your families this Christmas for these who desperately need parents to hold them and to show them the love of Christ. This blog was written a few weeks ago and I pray the Lord will give all of us a little more reckless abandonment.
"There is nothing that tells the truth about us as Christians so much as our prayer life." — D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
WINTER SNOW Verse 1
Could’ve come like a mighty storm
with all the strength of a hurricane
You could’ve come like a forrest fire
with the power of heaven in your flame
Chorus
But you came like a winter snow
quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
to the earth below
Verse 2
Could’ve swept in like a tidal wave
or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
to wipe away the things we’ve scarred
Bridge
No, your voice wasn’t in a bush burning
No, your voice wasn’t in a rushing wind
It was still, it was small, it was hidden
