I'm going to post things that I am grateful for on this page and also things that inspire me.  It's easy for me to see the problems and difficulties around me... much easier than seeing all that God has done for me.  So writing them down helps keep my heart grateful.  Today, May 30, 2005, I am grateful for the song "Come To Jesus".  Whenever I sing this song, it brings me out of whatever mood I'm in and draws me very close to Christ.  I'm going to post the words but the music is the song that plays on my homepage.  

Untitled Hymn (Come to Jesus)

Weak and wounded sinner Lost and left to die 

O, raise your head, for love is passing by 

Come to Jesus Come to Jesus 

Come to Jesus and live! 

Now your burden's lifted And carried far away 

And precious blood has washed away the stain, so 

Sing to Jesus Sing to Jesus 

Sing to Jesus and live! 

And like a newborn baby Don't be afraid to crawl 

And remember when you walk Sometimes we fall...so 

Fall on Jesus Fall on Jesus 

Fall on Jesus and live! 

Sometimes the way is lonely And steep and filled with pain 

So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then 

Cry to Jesus Cry to Jesus 

Cry to Jesus and live! 

O, and when the love spills over And music fills the night 

And when you can't contain your joy inside, then 

Dance for Jesus Dance for Jesus 

Dance for Jesus and live! 

And with your final heartbeat Kiss the world goodbye 

Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and 

Fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus 

Fly to Jesus and live!

Fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus 

Fly to Jesus and live!

I love my Wednesday night small group Bible study.  The folks in that group have become more than just friends through the years, they are my family of choice.  Tonight our leader shared a quote and a scripture that I wanted to pass along.   The scripture is short but powerful. 

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you.  He will quiet you with His love.  He will rejoice over you with singing."  Zephaniah 3:17    :)  

Then we also read a quote by Spurgeon that was SO powerful.  It said "Oh, the power, the melting, conquering, transforming power of the dear cross of Christ.  My brothers, we have but to constantly tell ourselves the matchless story, and we may expect to see the most remarkable results.  We need not despair of our hearts now that Christ has died for this sinner.  With such a hammer as the doctrine of the Cross, this most flinty heart will be broken and such a fire as the sweet love of Christ will melt this most mighty iceberg.  I need never to despair of my inability or my bad habits if I can but find occasion to bring the doctrine of Christ crucified into contact with my nature.  It will yet change me and Christ will be my king." 

I read this a few days ago and it was so profound, I decided to share it on here.  It seemed to put everything into perspective again as far as what Christ came for.  It's by Beth Moore...

Beth Moore

(For those who don't know, Beth Moore is a well-known women's Bible teacher based in Houston, Texas. She has written several books and does videos of Bible teaching from around the world.)

Knoxville airport all waiting to board planes: I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego...

I tried to keep from staring but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coathanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy grey hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long. Clean, but strangely out of place on an old man.

I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered reading somewhere that he was dead. So this man in the airport...an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere?....


There I sat trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern,and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man.

I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I 've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. "Oh no, God please no." I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, " Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!"

There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, "Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane. Then I heard it..."I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair."

The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my
thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, "God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I'm on this Lord. I'm you're girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am on him. I am going to witness to this man."

 Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. "That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair."

I looked up at God and quipped, "I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane, How am I suppose to brush his hair without a hairbrush?"

God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk
toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word: "I will
thoroughly finish you unto all good works." (2 Tim 3:7) I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies.

I knelt down in front of the man, and asked as demurely as possible, "Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?"

He looked back at me and said, "What did you say?"

"May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?"
 
To which he responded in volume ten, "Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.

At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, "SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?" At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, 

I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on  his face, and say, "If you really want to."

Are you kidding? OF course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, "Yes, sir, I would be pleased. ButI have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush."

"I have one in my bag," he responded.


I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but I must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.

A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair.... Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I--for that few minutes--felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's.

His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, "Sir, do you know my Jesus?"

He said, "Yes, I do." Well, that figures.

He explained, "I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior."

He said "You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery, and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself. What a mess I must be for my bride."

Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft.

I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, "That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?"

I said "Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!" And we got to share.

I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted because you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed.  He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!

I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way...all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

This past year, a friend of mine, Gracie, introduced me to a song that has helped get me through many days without binging.  If I could have written a song that expressed what I felt deep inside, this song would be it.  It makes my heart sing. 

Casting Crowns - Voice Of Truth
From the album Casting Crowns

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. 'Boy, you'll never win!'
'You'll never win!'

Chorus:
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, 'Do not be afraid!'
The voice of truth says, 'This is for My glory'
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. 'Boy you'll never win!'
'You'll never win!'

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth